THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


REMINISCENCES  OF 
MY  LIFE  IN  CAMP 

WITH  THE  33D  UNITED  STATES 

COLORED  TROOPS  LATE  1ST 

8.  C.  VOLUNTEERS 

BT 

SUSIE  KING  TAYLOR 

WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


BOSTON 
PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR 

1902 


COPYRIGHT,  1902,  BY  SUSIE  KING  TAYLOR 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


33*6 
T41 


To 
COLONEL  T.  W.  HIGQINSON 

THESE  PAGES 
ARE  GRATEFULLY  DEDICATED 


489558 

ARTIEO-iCC. 


PKEFACE 

I  HAVE  been  asked  many  times  by  my  friends, 
and  also  by  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  and  Women's  Relief  Corps,  to  write  a 
book  of  my  army  life,  during  the  war  of  1861-65, 
with  the  regiment  of  the  1st  South  Carolina 
Colored  Troops,  later  called  33d  United  States 
Colored  Infantry. 

At  first  I  did  not  think  I  would,  but  as  the 
years  rolled  on  and  my  friends  were  still  urging 
me  to  start  with  it,  I  wrote  to  Colonel  C.  T. 
Trowbridge  (who  had  command  of  this  regi- 
ment), asking  his  opinion  and  advice  on  the  mat- 
ter. His  answer  to  me  was,  "  Go  ahead !  write 
it ;  that  is  just  what  I  should  do,  were  I  in  your 
place,  and  I  will  give  you  all  the  assistance  you 
may  need,  whenever  you  require  it."  This  in- 
spired me  very  much. 

In  1900  I  received  a  letter  from  a  gentleman, 
sent  from  the  Executive  Mansion  at  St.  Paul, 
Minn.,  saying  Colonel  Trowbridge  had  told  him 
I  was  about  to  write  a  book,  and  when  it  was 


vi  PREFACE 

published  he  wanted  one  of  the  first  copies. 
This,  coming  from  a  total  stranger,  gave  me  more 
confidence,  so  I  now  present  these  reminiscences 
to  you,  hoping  they  may  prove  of  some  interest, 
and  show  how  much  service  and  good  we  can  do 
to  each  other,  and  what  sacrifices  we  can  make 
for  our  liberty  and  rights,  and  that  there  were 
"loyal  women,"  as  well  as  men,  in  those  days, 
who  did  not  fear  shell  or  shot,  who  cared  for  the 
sick  and  dying ;  women  who  camped  and  fared 
as  the  boys  did,  and  who  are  still  caring  for  the 
comrades  in  their  declining  years. 

So,  with  the  hope  that  the  following  pages  will 
accomplish  some  good  and  instruction  for  its 
readers,  I  shall  proceed  with  my  narrative. 

SUSIE  KING  TAYLOR. 
BOSTON,  1902. 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION  BY  COL.  THOMAS  WENTWORTH 

HIGGINSON ri 

LETTER  FROM  LIEUT.- COL.  C.  T.  TROWBRIDGB  xiii 

I.  A  BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  MY  ANCESTORS          .        .  1 

n.  MY  CHILDHOOD 5 

III.  ON  ST.  SIMON'S  ISLAND,  1862       .        .        .        .  H 

IV.  CAMP  SAXTON  —  PROCLAMATION  AND  BARBECUE. 

1863 18 

V.  MILITARY  EXPEDITIONS,  AND  LIFE  IN  CAMP       .  22 

VI.  ON  MORRIS  AND  OTHER  ISLANDS      ...  31 

VII.  CAST  AWAY            . 37 

VIII.  A  FLAG  OF  TRUCE 40 

IX.  CAPTURE  OF  CHARLESTON 42 

X.  MUSTERED  OUT 45 

XI.  AFTER  THE  WAR 53 

XII.   THE  WOMEN'S  RELIEF  CORPS    ....  59 

XIII.  THOUGHTS  ON  PRESENT  CONDITIONS     .        .        .61 

XIV.  A  VISIT  TO  LOUISIANA 69 

APPENDIX. 

Roster  of  Survivors  of   33d  Regiment  United 

States  Colored  Troops 79 

A  List  of  the  Battles  fought  by  the  Regiment  82 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

MM 

MRS.  SUSIE  KING  TAYLOR    ....  Frontispiece 
GROUP:  CAPT.  A.  W.  HEASLEY,  CAPT.  WALKER,  CAPT. 

W.  W.  SAMPSON,  CAPT.  CHARLES  E.  PARKER.  .  16 
COLONEL  THOMAS  WENTWORTH  HIGGINSON  .  .  24 
GROUP:  MAJOR  H.  A.  WHITNEY,  LIEUT.  J.  B.  WEST, 

HENRY  BATCHLOTT 28 

GROUP:  LIEUT.  JOHN  A.  TROWBRIDGE,  LIEUT.  ELI  C. 

MERRIAM,    LIEUT.  JAMES    M.  THOMPSON,    LIEUT. 

JEROME  T.  FURMAN 36 

GROUP  :  CAPT.  L.  W.  MBTCALP,  CAPT.  MIRON  W.  SAXTON, 

CAPT.  A.  W.  JACKSON,  CORPORAL  PETER  WAGGALL  40 
LIEUT.-COL.  C.  T.  TROWBRIDGE 46 

SCHOOLHOUSE   IN  SAVANNAH 54 


INTRODUCTION 

ACTUAL  military  life  is  rarely  described  by  a 
woman,  and  this  is  especially  true  of  a  woman 
whose  place  was  in  the  ranks,  as  the  wife  of  a 
soldier  and  herself  a  regimental  laundress.  No 
such  description  has  ever  been  given,  I  am  sure, 
by  one  thus  connected  with  a  colored  regiment ; 
so  that  the  nearly  200,000  black  soldiers  (178,- 
975)  of  our  Civil  War  have  never  before  been 
delineated  from  the  woman's  point  of  view.  All 
this  gives  peculiar  interest  to  this  little  volume, 
relating  wholly  to  the  career  of  the  very  earliest 
of  these  regiments,  —  the  one  described  by  my- 
self, from  a  wholly  different  point  of  view,  in 
my  volume  "  Army  Life  in  a  Black  Regiment," 
long  since  translated  into  French  by  the  Com- 
tesse  de  Gasparin  under  the  title  "  Vie  Militaire 
dans  un  Regiment  Noir." 

The  writer  of  the  present  book  was  very  excep- 
tional among  the  colored  laundresses,  in  that  she 
could  read  and  write  and  had  taught  children  to 
do  the  same  ;  and  her  whole  life  and  career  were 


rii  INTRODUCTION 

most  estimable,  both  during  the  war  and  in  the 
later  period  during  which  she  has  lived  in  Boston 
and  has  made  many  friends.  I  may  add  that  I 
did  not  see  the  book  until  the  sheets  were  in 
print,  and  have  left  it  wholly  untouched,  except 
as  to  a  few  errors  in  proper  names.  I  commend 
the  narrative  to  those  who  love  the  plain  record 
of  simple  lives,  led  in  stormy  periods. 

THOMAS  WENTWORTH  HIGGINSON, 
Former  Colonel  1st  S,  C.  Volunteers 

(afterwards  83d  U.  S.  Colored  Infantry). 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASS., 
NoTember  3,  1902. 


LETTER  FROM   COL.   C.  T.    TROWBRIDGE 

ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  April  7, 1902. 

MBS.  SUSAN  KING  TAYLOR: 

DEAR  MADAM,  —  The  manuscript  of  the  story  of 
your  army  life  reached  me  to-day.  I  have  read  it 
with  much  care  and  interest,  and  I  most  willingly  and 
cordially  indorse  it  as  a  truthful  account  of  your  un- 
selfish devotion  and  service  through  more  than  three 
long  years  of  war  in  which  the  33d  Regiment  bore  a 
conspicuous  part  in  the  great  conflict  for  human  liberty 
and  the  restoration  of  the  Union.  I  most  sincerely 
regret  that  through  a  technicality  you  are  debarred 
from  having  your  name  placed  on  the  roll  of  pension- 
ers, as  an  Army  Nurse ;  for  among  all  the  number  of 
heroic  women  whom  the  government  is  now  reward- 
ing, I  know  of  no  one  more  deserving  than  yourself. 
Yours  in  F.  C.  &  L., 

C.  T.  TROWBRIDGE, 
Late  Lt.-Col.  33d  U.  S.  C.  T. 


REMINISCENCES 


A  BRIEF  SKETCH  OP  MY  ANCESTORS 

MY  great-great-grandmother  was  120  years 
old  when  she  died.  She  had  seven  children,  and 
five  of  her  boys  were  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
She  was  from  Virginia,  and  was  half  Indian. 
She  was  so  old  she  had  to  be  held  in  the  sun  to 
help  restore  or  prolong  her  vitality. 

My  great-grandmother,  one  of  her  daughters, 
named  Susanna,  was  married  to  Peter  Simons, 
and  was  one  hundred  years  old  when  she  died, 
from  a  stroke  of  paralysis  in  Savannah.  She 
was  the  mother  of  twenty-four  children,  twenty- 
three  being  girls.  She  was  one  of  the  noted  mid- 
wives  of  her  day.  In  1820  my  grandmother  was 
born,  and  named  after  her  grandmother,  Dolly, 
and  in  1833  she  married  Fortune  Lambert  Reed. 
Two  children  blessed  their  union,  James  and 
Hagar  Ann.  James  died  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years. 


2  REMINISCENCES 

My  mother  was  born  in  1834.  She  married 
Raymond  Baker  in  1847.  Nine  children  were 
born  to  them,  three  dying  in  infancy.  I  was  the 
first  born.  I  was  born  on  the  Grest  Farm  (which 
was  on  an  island  known  as  Isle  of  Wight),  Lib- 
erty County,  about  thirty-five  miles  from  Savan- 
nah, Ga.,  on  August  6,  1848,  my  mother  being 
waitress  for  the  Grest  family.  I  have  often  been 
told  by  mother  of  the  care  Mrs.  Grest  took  of 
me.  She  was  very  fond  of  me,  and  I  remember 
when  my  brother  and  I  were  small  children,  and 
Mr.  Grest  would  go  away  on  business,  Mrs. 
Grest  would  place  us  at  the  foot  of  her  bed  to 
sleep  and  keep  her  company.  Sometimes  he 
would  return  home  earlier  than  he  had  expected 
to  ;  then  she  would  put  us  on  the  floor. 

When  I  was  about  seven  years  old,  Mr.  Grest 
allowed  my  grandmother  to  take  my  brother  and 
me  to  live  with  her  in  Savannah.  There  were  no 
railroad  connections  in  those  days  between  this 
place  and  Savannah  ;  all  travel  was  by  stage- 
coaches. I  remember,  as  if  it  were  yesterday, 
the  coach  which  ran  in  from  Savannah,  with  its 
driver,  whose  beard  nearly  reached  his  knees. 
His  name  was  Shakespeare,  and  often  I  would  go 
to  the  stable  where  he  kept  his  horses,  on  Bar- 
nard Street  in  front  of  the  old  Arsenal,  just  to 
look  at  his  wonderful  beard. 

My  grandmother  went  every  three  months  to 
see  my  mother.  She  would  hire  a  wagon  to  carry 


A  BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  MY  ANCESTORS   3 

bacon,  tobacco,  flour,  molasses,  and  sugar.  These 
she  would  trade  with  people  in  the  neighboring 
places,  for  eggs,  chickens,  or  cash,  if  they  had  it. 
These,  in  turn,  she  carried  back  to  the  city  mar- 
ket, where  she  had  a  customer  who  sold  them  for 
her.  The  profit  from  these,  together  with  laun- 
dry work  and  care  of  some  bachelors'  rooms, 
made  a  good  living  for  her. 

The  hardest  blow  to  her  was  the  failure  of  the 
Freedmen's  Savings  Bank  in  Savannah,  for  in 
that  bank  she  had  placed  her  savings,  about 
three  thousand  dollars,  the  result  of  her  hard 
labor  and  self-denial  before  the  war,  and  which, 
by  dint  of  shrewdness  and  care,  she  kept  together 
all  through  the  war.  She  felt  it  more  keenly, 
coming  as  it  did  in  her  old  age,  when  her  life 
was  too  far  spent  to  begin  anew  ;  but  she  took  a 
practical  view  of  the  matter,  for  she  said, "  I  will 
leave  it  all  in  God's  hand.  If  the  Yankees  did 
take  all  our  money,  they  freed  my  race ;  God 
will  take  care  of  us." 

In  1888  she  wrote  me  here  (Boston),  asking 
me  to  visit  her,  as  she  was  getting  very  feeble 
and  wanted  to  see  me  once  before  she  passed 
away.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  leave  at  once,  but 
about  the  time  I  planned  to  go,  in  March,  a  fear- 
ful blizzard  swept  our  country,  and  travel  was  at 
a  standstill  for  nearly  two  weeks ;  but  March  15 
I  left  on  the  first  through  steamer  from  New 
York,  en  route  for  the  South,  where  I  again  saw 


REMINISCENCES 


my  grandmother,  and  we  felt  thankful  that  we 
were  spared  to  meet  each  other  once  more.  This 
was  the  last  time  I  saw  her,  for  in  May,  1889, 
she  died. 


II 

MY  CHILDHOOD 

I  WAS  born  under  the  slave  law  in  Georgia, 
in  1848,  and  was  brought  up  by  my  grandmother 
in  Savannah.  There  were  three  of  us  with  her, 
my  younger  sister  and  brother.  My  brother  and 
I  being  the  two  eldest,  we  were  sent  to  a  friend 
of  my  grandmother,  Mrs.  Woodhouse,  a  widow, 
to  learn  to  read  and  write.  She  was  a  free  wo- 
man and  lived  on  Bay  Lane,  between  Haber- 
sham  and  Price  streets,  about  half  a  mile  from  my 
house.  We  went  every  day  about  nine  o'clock, 
with  our  books  wrapped  in  paper  to  prevent  the 
police  or  white  persons  from  seeing  them.  We 
went  in,  one  at  a  time,  through  the  gate,  into  the 
yard  to  the  L  kitchen,  which  was  the  schoolroom. 
She  had  twenty-five  or  thirty  children  whom  she 
taught,  assisted  by  her  daughter,  Mary  Jane. 
The  neighbors  would  see  us  going  in  sometimes, 
but  they  supposed  we  were  there  learning  trades, 
as  it  was  the  custom  to  give  children  a  trade  of 
some  kind.  After  school  we  left  the  same  way 
we  entered,  one  by  one,  when  we  would  go  to  a 
square,  about  a  block  from  the  school,  and  wait 
for  each  other.  We  would  gather  laurel  leaves 


6  REMINISCENCES 

and  pop  them  on  our  hands,  on  our  way  home. 
I  remained  at  her  school  for  two  years  or  more, 
when  I  was  sent  to  a  Mrs.  Mary  Beasley,  where 
I  continued  until  May,  1860,  when  she  told  my 
grandmother  she  had  taught  me  all  she  knew, 
and  grandmother  had  better  get  some  one  else 
who  could  teach  me  more,  so  I  stopped  my  studies 
for  a  while. 

I  had  a  white  playmate  about  this  time,  named 
Katie  O'Connor,  who  lived  on  the  next  corner 
of  the  street  from  my  house,  and  who  attended 
a  convent.  One  day  she  told  me,  if  I  would  pro- 
mise not  to  tell  her  father,  she  would  give  me 
some  lessons.  On  my  promise  not  to  do  so,  and 
getting  her  mother's  consent,  she  gave  me  lessons 
about  four  months,  every  evening.  At  the  end 
of  this  time  she  was  put  into  the  convent  per- 
manently, and  I  have  never  seen  her  since. 

A  month  after  this,  James  Blouis,  our  land- 
lord's son,  was  attending  the  High  School,  and 
was  very  fond  of  grandmother,  so  she  asked  him 
to  give  me  a  few  lessons,  which  he  did  until  the 
middle  of  1861,  when  the  Savannah  Volunteer 
Guards,  to  which  he  and  his  brother  belonged, 
were  ordered  to  the  front  under  General  Barton. 
In  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  his  brother 
Eugene  was  killed,  and  James  deserted  over  to 
the  Union  side,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  went 
to  Washington,  D.  C.,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. 


MY  CHILDHOOD  7 

I  often  wrote  passes  for  my  grandmother,  for 
all  colored  persons,  free  or  slaves,  were  com- 
pelled to  have  a  pass ;  free  colored  people  having 
a  guardian  in  place  of  a  master.  These  passes 
were  good  until  10  or  10.30  p.  M.  for  one  night 
or  every  night  for  one  month.  The  pass  read  as 
follows :  — 

SAVANNAH,  GA.,  March  1st,  1860. 

Pass  the  bearer from  9  to  10.30.  p.  M. 

VALENTINE  GREST. 

Every  person  had  to  have  this  pass,  for  at  nine 
o'clock  each  night  a  bell  was  rung,  and  any 
colored  persons  found  on  the  street  after  this 
hour  were  arrested  by  the  watchman,  and  put  in 
the  guard-house  until  next  morning,  when  their 
owners  would  pay  their  fines  and  release  them. 
I  knew  a  number  of  persons  who  went  out  at  any 
time  at  night  and  were  never  arrested,  as  the 
watchman  knew  them  so  well  he  never  stopped 
them,  and  seldom  asked  to  see  their  passes,  only 
stopping  them  long  enough,  sometimes,  to  say 
"  Howdy,"  and  then  telling  them  to  go  along. 

About  this  time  I  had  been  reading  so  much 
about  the  "  Yankees  "  I  was  very  anxious  to  see 
them.  The  whites  would  tell  their  colored  peo- 
ple not  to  go  to  the  Yankees,  for  they  would  har- 
ness them  to  carts  and  make  them  pull  the  carts 
around,  in  place  of  horses.  I  asked  grandmother, 
one  day,  if  this  was  true.  She  replied,  "  Cer- 


8  REMINISCENCES 

tainly  not !  "  that  the  white  people  did  not  want 
slaves  to  go  over  to  the  Yankees,  and  told  them 
these  things  to  frighten  them.  "  Don't  you  see 
those  signs  pasted  about  the  streets  ?  one  reading, 
4 1  am  a  rattlesnake;  if  you  touch  me  I  will 
strike ! '  Another  reads,  '  I  am  a  wild-cat !  Be- 
ware,' etc.  These  are  warnings  to  the  North ;  so 
don't  mind  what  the  white  people  say."  I  wanted 
to  see  these  wonderful  "  Yankees  "  so  much,  as  I 
heard  my  parents  say  the  Yankee  was  going  to 
set  all  the  slaves  free.  Oh,  how  those  people 
prayed  for  freedom!  I  remember,  one  night, 
my  grandmother  went  out  into  the  suburbs  of  the 
city  to  a  church  meeting,  and  they  were  fervently 
singing  this  old  hymn,  — 

"  Yes,  we  all  shall  be  free, 
Yes,  we  all  shall  be  free, 
Yes,  we  all  shall  be  free, 
When  the  Lord  shall  appear,"  — 

when  the  police  came  in  and  arrested  all  who  were 
there,  saying  they  were  planning  freedom,  and 
sang  "  the  Lord,"  in  place  of  "  Yankee,"  to  blind 
any  one  who  might  be  listening.  Grandmother 
never  forgot  that  night,  although  she  did  not  stay 
in  the  guard-house,  as  she  sent  to  her  guardian, 
who  came  at  once  for  her ;  but  this  was  the  last 
meeting  she  ever  attended  out  of  the  city  proper. 
On  April  1,  1862,  about  the  time  the  Union 
soldiers  were  firing  on  Fort  Pulaski,  I  was  sent 
out  into  the  country  to  my  mother.  I  remember 


MY  CHILDHOOD  9 

what  a  roar  and  din  the  guns  made.  They  jarred 
the  earth  for  miles.  The  fort  was  at  last  taken 
by  them.  Two  days  after  the  taking  of  Fort 
Pulaski,  my  uncle  took  his  family  of  seven  and 
myself  to  St.  Catherine  Island.  We  landed  under 
the  protection  of  the  Union  fleet,  and  remained 
there  two  weeks,  when  about  thirty  of  us  were 
taken  aboard  the  gunboat  P ,  to  be  trans- 
ferred to  St.  Simon's  Island ;  and  at  hist,  to  my 
unbounded  joy,  I  saw  the  "  Yankee." 

After  we  were  all  settled  aboard  and  started  on 
our  journey,  Captain  Whitmore,  commanding  the 
boat,  asked  me  where  I  was  from.  I  told  him 
Savannah,  Ga.  He  asked  if  I  could  read  ;  I  said, 
"  Yes ! "  "  Can  you  write  ?  "  he  next  asked.  "  Yes, 
I  can  do  that  also,"  I  replied,  and  as  if  he  had 
some  doubts  of  my  answers  he  handed  me  a  book 
and  a  pencil  and  told  me  to  write  my  name  and 
where  I  was  from.  I  did  this ;  when  he  wanted 
to  know  if  I  could  sew.  On  hearing  I  could,  he 
asked  me  to  hem  some  napkins  for  him.  He  was 
surprised  at  my  accomplishments  (for  they  were 
such  in  those  days),  for  he  said  he  did  not  know 
there  were  any  negroes  in  the  South  able  to  read 
or  write.  He  said,  "  You  seem  to  be  so  different 
from  the  other  colored  people  who  came  from  the 
same  place  you  did."  "  No !  "  I  replied,  "  the 
only  difference  is,  they  were  reared  in  the  coun- 
try and  I  in  the  city,  as  was  a  man  from  Darien, 
Ga.,  named  Edward  King."  That  seemed  to 


10  REMINISCENCES 

satisfy  him,  and  we  had  no  further  conversation 
that  day  on  the  subject. 

In  the  afternoon  the  captain  spied  a  boat  in 
the  distance,  and  as  it  drew  nearer  he  noticed  it 
had  a  white  flag  hoisted,  but  before  it  had  reached 
the  Putumoka  he  ordered  all  passengers  between 
decks,  so  we  could  not  be  seen,  for  he  thought 
they  might  be  spies.  The  boat  finally  drew  along- 
side of  our  boat,  and  had  Mr.  Edward  Donegall 
on  board,  who  wanted  his  two  servants,  Nick  and 
Judith.  He  wanted  these,  as  they  were  his  own 
children.  Our  captain  told  him  he  knew  nothing 
of  them,  which  was  true,  for  at  the  time  they 
were  on  St.  Simon's,  and  not,  as  their  father 
supposed,  on  our  boat.  After  the  boat  left,  we 
were  allowed  to  come  up  on  deck  again. 


Ill 

ON  ST.  SIMON'S  ISLAND 

1862 

NEXT  morning  we  arrived  at  St.  Simon's,  and 
the  captain  told  Commodore  Goldsborough  about 
this  affair,  and  his  reply  was,  "  Captain  Whitmore, 
you  should  not  have  allowed  them  to  return ;  you 
should  have  kept  them."  After  I  had  been  on 
St.  Simon's  about  three  days,  Commodore  Golds- 
borough  heard  of  me,  and  came  to  Gaston  Bluff 
to  see  me.  I  found  him  very  cordial.  He  said 
Captain  Whitmore  had  spoken  to  him  of  me,  and 
that  he  was  pleased  to  hear  of  my  being  so  capa- 
ble, etc.,  and  wished  me  to  take  charge  of  a  school 
for  the  children  on  the  island.  I  told  him  I 
would  gladly  do  so,  if  I  could  have  some  books. 
He  said  I  should  have  them,  and  in  a  week  or  two 
I  received  two  large  boxes  of  books  and  testa- 
ments from  the  North.  I  had  about  forty  children 
to  teach,  beside  a  number  of  adults  who  came  to 
me  nights,  all  of  them  so  eager  to  learn  to  read, 
to  read  above  anything  else.  Chaplain  French,  of 
Boston,  would  come  to  the  school,  sometimes,  and 
lecture  to  the  pupils  on  Boston  and  the  North. 

About  the  first  of  June  we  were  told  that  there 


12  REMINISCENCES 

was  going  to  be  a  settlement  of  the  war.  Those 
who  were  on  the  Union  side  would  remain  free, 
and  those  in  bondage  were  to  work  three  days  for 
their  masters  and  three  for  themselves.  It  was 
a  gloomy  time  for  us  all,  and  we  were  to  be  sent 
to  Liberia.  Chaplain  French  asked  me  would  I 
rather  go  back  to  Savannah  or  go  to  Liberia.  I 
told  him  the  latter  place  by  all  means.  We  did 
not  know  when  this  would  be,  but  we  were  pre- 
pared in  case  this  settlement  should  be  reached. 
However,  the  Confederates  would  not  agree  to  the 
arrangement,  or  else  it  was  one  of  the  many 
rumors  flying  about  at  the  time,  as  we  heard  no- 
thing further  of  the  matter.  There  were  a  num- 
ber of  settlements  on  this  island  of  St.  Simon's, 
just  like  little  villages,  and  we  would  go  from  one 
to  the  other  on  business,  to  call,  or  only  for  a 
walk. 

One  Sunday,  two  men,  Adam  Miller  and  Daniel 
Spaulding,  were  chased  by  some  rebels  as  they 
were  coming  from  Hope  Place  (which  was  be- 
tween the  Beach  and  Gaston  Bluff),  but  the  latter 
were  unable  to  catch  them.  When  they  reached 
the  Beach  and  told  this,  all  the  men  on  the  place, 
about  ninety,  armed  themselves,  and  next  day 
(Monday),  with  Charles  O'Neal  as  their  leader, 
skirmished  the  island  for  the  "  rebs."  In  a  short 
while  they  discovered  them  in  the  woods,  hidden 
behind  a  large  log,  among  the  thick  underbrush. 
Charles  O'Neal  was  the  first  to  see  them,  and  he 


ON  ST.  SIMON'S  ISLAND  13 

was  killed;  also  John  Brown,  and  their  bodies 
were  never  found.  Charles  O'Neal  was  an  uncle 
of  Edward  King,  who  later  was  my  husband  and 
a  sergeant  in  Co.  E.,  U.  S.  I.  Another  man  was 
shot,  but  not  found  for  three  days.  On  Tuesday, 
the  second  day,  Captain  Trowbridge  and  some 
soldiers  landed,  and  assisted  the  skirmishers. 
Word  having  been  sent  by  the  mail-boat  Uncas 
to  Hilton  Head,  later  in  the  day  Commodore 
Goldsborough,  who  was  in  command  of  the  naval 
station,  landed  about  three  hundred  marines,  and 
joined  the  others  to  oust  the  rebels.  On  Wednes- 
day, John  Baker,  the  man  shot  on  Monday,  was 
found  in  a  terrible  condition  by  Henry  Batchlott, 
who  carried  him  to  the  Beach,  where  he  was  at- 
tended by  the  surgeon.  He  told  us  -how,  after  be- 
ing shot,  he  lay  quiet  for  a  day.  On  the  second 
day  he  managed  to  reach  some  wild  grapes  grow- 
ing near  him.  These  he  ate,  to  satisfy  his  hunger 
and  intense  thirst,  then  he  crawled  slowly,  every 
movement  causing  agony,  until  he  got  to  the  side 
of  the  road.  He  lived  only  three  months  after 
they  found  him. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  skirmish  the  troops 
captured  a  boat  which  they  knew  the  Confederates 
had  used  to  land  in,  and  having  this  in  their  pos- 
session, the  "  rebs  "  could  not  return  ;  so  pickets 
were  stationed  all  around  the  island.  There  was 
an  old  man,  Henry  Capers,  who  had  been  left  on 
one  of  the  places  by  his  old  master,  Mr.  Hazzard, 


14  REMINISCENCES 

as  he  was  too  old  to  carry  away.  These  rebels 
went  to  his  house  in  the  night,  and  he  hid  them 
up  in  the  loft.  On  Tuesday  all  hands  went  to 
this  man's  house  with  a  determination  to  burn  it 
down,  but  Henry  Batchlott  pleaded  with  the  men 
to  spare  it.  The  rebels  were  in  hiding,  still,  wait- 
ing a  chance  to  get  off  the  island.  They  searched 
his  house,  but  neglected  to  go  up  into  the  loft, 
and  in  so  doing  missed  the  rebels  concealed  there. 
Late  in  the  night  Henry  Capers  gave  them  his 
boat  to  escape  in,  and  they  got  off  all  right.  This 
old  man  was  allowed  by  the  men  in  charge  of  the 
island  to  cut  grass  for  his  horse,  and  to  have  a 
boat  to  carry  this  grass  to  his  home,  and  so  they 
were  not  detected,  our  men  thinking  it  was  Capers 
using  the  boat.  After  Commodore  Goldsborough 
left  the  island,  Commodore  Judon  sent  the  old 
man  over  to  the  mainland  and  would  not  allow 
him  to  remain  on  the  island. 

There  were  about  six  hundred  men,  women, 
.and  children  on  St.  Simon's,  the  women  and  chil- 
dren being  in  the  majority,  and  we  were  afraid  to 
go  very  far  from  our  own  quarters  in  the  day- 
time, and  at  night  even  to  go  out  of  the  house 
for  a  long  time,  although  the  men  were  on  the 
watch  all  the  time  ;  for  there  were  not  any  soldiers 
on  the  island,  only  the  marines  who  were  on  the 
gunboats  along  the  coast.  The  rebels,  knowing 
this,  could  steal  by  them  under  cover  of  the  night, 
and  getting  on  the  island  would  capture  any  per- 


ON  ST.  SIMON'S  ISLAND  15 

sons  venturing  out  alone  and  carry  them  to  the 
mainland.  Several  of  the  men  disappeared,  and 
as  they  were  never  heard  from  we  came  to  the 
conclusion  they  had  been  carried  off  in  this 
way. 

The  latter  part  of  August,  1862,  Captain  C.  T. 
Trowbridge,  with  his  brother  John  and  Lieuten- 
ant Walker,  came  to  St.  Simon's  Island  from 
Hilton  Head,  by  order  of  General  Hunter,  to  get 
all  the  men  possible  to  finish  filling  his  regiment 
which  he  had  organized  in  March,  1862.  He  had 
heard  of  the  skirmish  on  this  island,  and  was  very 
much  pleased  at  the  bravery  shown  by  these  men. 
He  found  me  at  Gaston  Bluff  teaching  my  little 
school,  and  was  much  interested  in  it.  When  I 
knew  him  better  I  found  him  to  be  a  thorough 
gentleman  and  a  staunch  friend  to  my  race. 

Captain  Trowbridge  remained  with  us  until 
October,  when  the  order  was  received  to  evacuate, 
and  so  we  boarded  the  Ben-De-Ford,  a  transport, 
for  Beaufort,  S.  C.  When  we  arrived  in  Beau- 
fort, Captain  Trowbridge  and  the  men  he  had 
enlisted  went  to  camp  at  Old  Fort,  which  they 
named  "  Camp  Saxton."  I  was  enrolled  as  laun- 
dress. 

The  first  suits  worn  by  the  boys  were  red 
coats  and  pants,  which  they  disliked  very  much, 
for,  they  said,  "  The  rebels  see  us,  miles  away." 

The  first  colored  troops  did  not  receive  any 
pay  for  eighteen  months,  and  the  men  had  to  de- 


16  REMINISCENCES 

pend  wholly  on  what  they  received  from  the  com- 
missary, established  by  General  Saxton.  A  great 
many  of  these  men  had  large  families,  and  as 
they  had  no  money  to  give  them,  their  wives  were 
obliged  to  support  themselves  and  children  by 
washing  for  the  officers  of  the  gunboats  and  the 
soldiers,  and  making  cakes  and  pies  which  they  sold 
to  the  boys  in  camp.  Finally,  in  1863,  the  gov- 
ernment decided  to  give  them  half  pay,  but  the 
men  would  not  accept  this.  They  wanted  "  full 
pay  "  or  nothing.  They  preferred  rather  to  give 
their  services  to  the  state,  which  they  did  until 
1864,  when  the  government  granted  them  full 
pay,  with  all  the  back  pay  due. 

I  remember  hearing  Captain  Heasley  telling 
his  company,  one  day,  "  Boys,  stand  up  for  your 
full  pay !  I  am  with  you,  and  so  are  all  the  offi- 
cers." This  captain  was  from  Pennsylvania,  and 
was  a  very  good  man;  all  the  men  liked  him. 
N.  G.  Parker,  our  first  lieutenant,  was  from  Mas- 
sachusetts. H.  A.  Beach  was  from  New  York. 
He  was  very  delicate,  and  had  to  resign  in  1864 
on  account  of  ill  health. 

I  had  a  number  of  relatives  in  this  regiment, 
—  several  uncles,  some  cousins,  and  a  husband  in 
Company  E,  and  a  number  of  cousins  in  other 
companies.  Major  Strong,  of  this  regiment, 
started  home  on  a  furlough,  but  the  vessel  he  was 
aboard  was  lost,  and  he  never  reached  his  home. 
He  was  one  of  the  best  officers  we  had.  After 


CAPT.  A.  W.  HEASLEY 

CAPT.  WALKER  CAPT.  W.  W.  SAMPSON 

CAPT.  CHARLES  E.  PARKER 


ON  ST.  SIMON'S  ISLAND  17 

his  death,  Captain  C.  T.  Trowbridge  was  promoted 
major,  August,  1863,  and  filled  Major  Strong's 
place  until  December,  1864,  when  he  was  pro- 
moted lieutenant-colonel,  which  he  remained  un- 
til he  was  mustered  out,  February  6,  1866. 

In  February,  1863,  several  cases  of  varioloid 
broke  out  among  the  boys,  which  caused  some 
anxiety  in  camp.  Edward  Davis,  of  Company  E 
(the  company  I  was  with),  had  it  very  badly.  He 
was  put  into  a  tent  apart  from  the  rest  of  the 
men,  and  only  the  doctor  and  camp  steward,  James 
Cummings,  were  allowed  to  see  or  attend  him ; 
but  I  went  to  see  this  man  every  day  and  nursed 
him.  The  last  thing  at  night,  I  always  went  in 
to  see  that  he  was  comfortable,  but  in  spite  of 
the  good  care  and  attention  he  received,  he 
succumbed  to  the  disease. 

I  was  not  in  the  least  afraid  of  the  small-pox. 
I  had  been  vaccinated,  and  I  drank  sassafras  tea 
constantly,  which  kept  my  blood  purged  and  pre- 
vented me  from  contracting  this  dread  scourge, 
and  no  one  need  fear  getting  it  if  they  will  only 
keep  their  blood  in  good  condition  with  this  sassa- 
fras tea,  and  take  it  before  going  where  the  patient 
is. 


IV 


CAMP  SAXTON  • —  PROCLAMATION  AND  BARBECUE 
1863 

ON  the  first  of  January,  1863,  we  held  services 
for  the  purpose  of  listening  to  the  reading  of  Pre- 
sident Lincoln's  proclamation  by  Dr.  W.  H. 
Brisbane,  and  the  presentation  of  two  beautiful 
stands  of  colors,  one  from  a  lady  in  Connecticut, 
and  the  other  from  Rev.  Mr.  Cheever.  The  pre- 
sentation speech  was  made  by  Chaplain  French. 
It  was  a  glorious  day  for  us  all,  and  we  enjoyed 
every  minute  of  it,  and  as  a  fitting  close  and  the 
crowning  event  of  this  occasion  we  had  a  grand 
barbecue.  A  number  of  oxen  were  roasted  whole, 
and  we  had  a  fine  feast.  Although  not  served  as 
tastily  or  correctly  as  it  would  have  been  at  home, 
yet  it  was  enjoyed  with  keen  appetites  and  relish. 
The  soldiers  had  a  good  time.  They  sang  or 
shouted  "  Hurrah ! "  all  through  the  camp,  and 
seemed  overflowing  with  fun  and  frolic  until  taps 
were  sounded,  when  many,  no  doubt,  dreamt  of 
this  memorable  day. 

I  had  rather  an  amusing  experience ;  that  is,  it 
seems  amusing  now,  as  I  look  back,  but  at  the 
time  it  occurred  it  was  a  most  serious  one  to  me. 


CAMP  SAXTON  19 

When  our  regiment  left  Beaufort  for  Seabrooke, 
I  left  some  of  my  things  with  a  neighbor  who 
lived  outside  of  the  camp.  After  I  had  been  at 
Seabrooke  about  a  week,  I  decided  to  return  to 
Camp  Saxton  and  get  them.  So  one  morning,  with 
Mary  Shaw,  a  friend  who  was  in  the  company 
at  that  time,  I  started  off.  There  was  no  way 
for  us  to  get  to  Beaufort  other  than  to  walk,  ex- 
cept we  rode  on  the  commissary  wagon.  This 
we  did,  and  reached  Beaufort  about  one  o'clock. 
We  then  had  more  than  two  miles  to  walk  before 
reaching  our  old  camp,  and  expected  to  be  able 
to  accomplish  this  and  return  in  time  to  meet  the 
wagon  again  by  three  o'clock  that  afternoon,  and 
so  be  taken  back.  We  failed  to  do  this,  however, 
for  when  we  got  to  Beaufort  the  wagon  was  gone. 
We  did  not  know  what  to  do.  I  did  not  wish 
to  remain  overnight,  neither  did  my  friend,  al- 
though we  might  easily  have  stayed,  as  both  had 
relatives  in  the  town. 

It  was  in  the  springtime,  and  the  days  were 
long,  and  as  the  sun  looked  so  bright,  we  con- 
cluded to  walk  back,  thinking  we  should  reach 
camp  before  dark.  So  off  we  started  on  our  ten- 
mile  tramp.  We  had  not  gone  many  miles, 
however,  before  we  were  all  tired  out  and  began 
to  regret  our  undertaking.  The  sun  was  getting 
low,  and  we  grew  more  frightened,  fearful  of 
meeting  some  animal  or  of  treading  on  a  snake  on 
our  way.  We  did  not  meet  a  person,  and  we 


20  REMINISCENCES 

were  frightened  almost  to  death.  Our  feet  were 
so  sore  we  could  hardly  walk.  Finally  we  took 
off  our  shoes  and  tried  walking  in  our  stocking 
feet,  but  this  made  them  worse.  We  had  gone 
about  six  miles  when  night  overtook  us.  There 
we  were,  nothing  around  us  but  dense  woods,  and 
as  there  was  no  house  or  any  place  to  stop  at, 
there  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  continue  on. 
We  were  afraid  to  speak  to  each  other. 

Meantime  at  the  camp,  seeing  no  signs  of  us 
by  dusk,  they  concluded  we  had  decided  to  re- 
main over  until  next  day,  and  so  had  no  idea  of 
our  plight.  Imagine  their  surprise  when  we 
reached  camp  about  eleven  p.  M.  The  guard 
challenged  us,  "  Who  comes  there  ?  "  My  an- 
swer was,  "  A  friend  without  a  countersign."  He 
approached  and  saw  who  it  was,  reported,  and 
we  were  admitted  into  the  lines.  They  had  the 
joke  on  us  that  night,  and  for  a  long  time  after 
would  tease  us  ;  and  sometimes  some  of  the  men 
who  were  on  guard  that  night  would  call  us  de- 
serters. They  used  to  laugh  at  us,  but  we  joined 
with  them  too,  especially  when  we  would  tell 
them  our  experience  on  our  way  to  camp.  I  did 
not  undertake  that  trip  again,  as  there  was  no 
way  of  getting  in  or  out  except  one  took  the 
provision  wagon,  and  there  was  not  much  depend- 
ence to  be  put  in  that  returning  to  camp.  Per- 
haps the  driver  would  say  one  hour  and  he  might 
be  there  earlier  or  later.  Of  course  it  was  not 


CAMP  SAXTON  21 

his  fault,  as  it  depended  when  the  order  was 
filled  at  the  Commissary  Department ;  therefore 
I  did  not  go  any  more  until  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  our  new  camp,  which  was  named  after 
our  hero,  Colonel  Shaw,  who  at  that  time  was  at 
Beaufort  with  his  regiment,  the  54th  Massachu- 
setts. 

I  taught  a  great  many  of  the  comrades  in  Com- 
pany E  to  read  and  write,  when  they  were  off 
duty.  Nearly  all  were  anxious  to  learn.  My 
husband  taught  some  also  when  it  was  convenient 
for  him.  I  was  very  happy  to  know  my  efforts 
were  successful  in  camp,  and  also  felt  grateful  for 
the  appreciation  of  my  services.  I  gave  my  ser- 
vices willingly  for  four  years  and  three  months 
without  receiving  a  dollar.  I  was  glad,  however, 
to  be  allowed  to  go  with  the  regiment,  to  care  for 
the  sick  and  afflicted  comrades. 


MILITARY   EXPEDITIONS,   AND   LIFE  IN   CAMP 

IN  the  latter  part  of  1862  the  regiment  made 
an  expedition  into  Darien,  Georgia,  and  up  the 
Ridge,  and  on  January  23,  1863,  another  up  St. 
Mary's  River,  capturing  a  number  of  stores  for 
the  government ;  then  on  to  Fernandina,  Florida. 
They  were  gone  ten  or  twelve  days,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  they  returned  to  camp. 

March  10,  1863,  we  were  ordered  to  Jackson- 
ville, Florida.  Leaving  Camp  Saxton  between 
four  and  five  o'clock,  we  arrived  at  Jacksonville 
about  eight  o'clock  next  morning,  accompanied 
by  three  or  four  gunboats.  When  the  rebels  saw 
these  boats,  they  ran  out  of  the  city,  leaving  the 
women  behind,  and  we  found  out  afterwards  that 
they  thought  we  had  a  much  larger  fleet  than 
we  really  had.  Our  regiment  was  kept  out  of 
sight  until  we  made  fast  at  the  wharf  where  it 
landed,  and  while  the  gunboats  were  shelling  up 
the  river  and  as  far  inland  as  possible,  the  regi- 
ment landed  and  marched  up  the  street,  where 
they  spied  the  rebels  who  had  fled  from  the  city. 
They  were  hiding  behind  a  house  about  a  mile 
or  so  away,  their  faces  blackened  to  disguise 


MILITARY  EXPEDITIONS  23 

themselves  as  negroes,  and  our  boys,  as  they  ad- 
vanced toward  them,  halted  a  second,  saying, 
"  They  are  black  men !  Let  them  come  to  us,  or 
we  will  make  them  know  who  we  are."  With 
this,  the  firing  was  opened  and  several  of  our 
men  were  wounded  and  killed.  The  rebels  had 
a  number  wounded  and  killed.  It  was  through 
this  way  the  discovery  was  made  that  they  were 
white  men.  Our  men  drove  them  some  distance 
in  retreat  and  then  threw  out  their  pickets. 

While  the  fighting  was  on,  a  friend,  Lizzie 
Lancaster,  and  I  stopped  at  several  of  the  rebel 
homes,  and  after  talking  with  some  of  the  women 
and  children  we  asked  them  if  they  had  any  food. 
They  claimed  to  have  only  some  hard-tack,  and 
evidently  did  not  care  to  give  us  anything  to  eat, 
but  this  was  not  surprising.  They  were  bitterly 
against  our  people  and  had  no  mercy  or  sympa- 
thy for  us. 

The  second  day,  our  boys  were  reinforced  by 
a  regiment  of  white  soldiers,  a  Maine  regiment, 
and  by  cavalry,  and  had  quite  a  fight.  On  the 
third  day,  Edward  Herron,  who  was  a  fine  gun- 
ner on  the  steamer  John  Adams,  came  on  shore, 
bringing  a  small  cannon,  which  the  men  pulled 
along  for  more  than  five  miles.  This  cannon 
was  the  only  piece  for  shelling.  On  coming  upon 
the  enemy,  all  secured  their  places,  and  they 
had  a  lively  fight,  which  lasted  several  hours,  and 
our  boys  were  nearly  captured  by  the  Confeder- 


24  REMINISCENCES 

ates ;  but  the  Union  boys  carried  out  all  their 
plans  that  day,  and  succeeded  in  driving  the 
enemy  back.  After  this  skirmish,  every  after- 
noon between  four  and  five  o'clock  the  Confeder- 
ate General  Finegan  would  send  a  flag  of  truce  to 
Colonel  Higginson,  warning  him  to  send  all  wo- 
men and  children  out  of  the  city,  and  threatening 
to  bombard  it  if  this  was  not  done.  Our  colonel 
allowed  all  to  go  who  wished,  at  first,  but  as  Gen- 
eral Finegan  grew  more  hostile  and  kept  sending 
these  communications  for  nearly  a  week,  Colonel 
Higginson  thought  it  not  best  or  necessary  to 
send  any  more  out  of  the  city,  and  so  informed 
General  Finegan.  This  angered  the  general, 
for  that  night  the  rebels  shelled  directly  toward 
Colonel  Higginson's  headquarters.  The  shelling 
was  so  heavy  that  the  colonel  told  my  captain  to 
have  me  taken  up  into  the  town  to  a  hotel,  which 
was  used  as  a  hospital.  As  my  quarters  were 
just  in  the  rear  of  the  colonel's,  he  was  compelled 
to  leave  his  also  before  the  night  was  over.  I 
expected  every  moment  to  be  killed  by  a  shell, 
but  on  arriving  at  the  hospital  I  knew  I  was 
safe,  for  the  shells  could  not  reach  us  there.  It 
was  plainly  to  be  seen  now,  the  ruse  of  the  flag 
of  truce  coming  so  often  to  us.  The  bearer  was 
evidently  a  spy  getting  the  location  of  the  head- 
quarters, etc.,  for  the  shells  were  sent  too  accu- 
rately to  be  at  random. 

Next  morning  Colonel  Higginson  took  the  cav- 


THOMAS    WENTWORTH    HIGGINSON 

COLONEL  FIRST  SOUTH  CAROLINA  VOLUNTEERS 

Afterwards  jjd  U.  S.  C.  T. 


MILITARY  EXPEDITIONS  27 

airy  and  a  regiment  on  another  tramp  after-ron. 
rebels.  They  were  gone  several  days  and  had  ew- 
hardest  fight  they  had  had,  for  they  wanted  toits, 
as  far  as  a  station  which  was  some  distance  frche 
the  city.  The  gunboats  were  of  little  assistancn 
to  them,  yet  notwithstanding  this  drawback  oue 
boys  returned  with  only  a  few  killed  and  wounded, 
and  after  this  we  were  not  troubled  with  General 
Finegan. 

We  remained  here  a  few  weeks  longer,  when, 
about  April  first,  the  regiment  was  ordered  back 
to  Camp  Saxton,  where  it  stayed  a  week,  when 
the  order  came  to  go  to  Port  Royal  Ferry  on 
picket  duty.  It  was  a  gay  day  for  the  boys.  By 
seven  o'clock  all  tents  were  down,  and  each  com- 
pany, with  a  commissary  wagon,  marched  up  the 
shell  road,  which  is  a  beautiful  avenue  ten  or 
twelve  miles  out  of  Beaufort.  We  arrived  at 
Seabrooke  at  about  four  o'clock,  where  our  tents 
were  pitched  and  the  men  put  on  duty.  We  were 
here  a  few  weeks,  when  Company  E  was  ordered 
to  Barnwell  plantation  for  picket  duty. 

Some  mornings  I  would  go  along  the  picket 
line,  and  I  could  see  the  rebels  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river.  Sometimes  as  they  were  chang- 
ing pickets  they  would  call  over  to  our  men  and 
ask  for  something  to  eat,  or  for  tobacco,  and  our 
men  would  tell  them  to  come  over.  Sometimes 
one  or  two  would  desert  to  us,  saying,  they  "  had 
no  negroes  to  fight  for."  Others  would  shoot 


REMINISCENCES 

js  at  our  picket,  but  as  the  river  was  so  wide 
e  was  never  any  damage  done,  and  the  Con- 
crates  never  attempted  to  shell  us  while  we 

.•e  there. 

I  learned  to  handle  a  musket  very  well  while 
i  the  regiment,  and  could  shoot  straight  and  often 
jit  the  target.  I  assisted  in  cleaning  the  guns 
and  used  to  fire  them  off,  to  see  if  the  cartridges 
were  dry,  before  cleaning  and  reloading,  each  day. 
I  thought  this  great  fun.  I  was  also  able  to  take 
a  gun  all  apart,  and  put  it  together  again. 

Between  Barnwell  and  the  mainland  was  Hall 
Island.  I  went  over  there  several  times  with  Ser- 
geant King  and  other  comrades.  One  night  there 
was  a  stir  in  camp  when  it  was  found  that  the 
rebels  were  trying  to  cross,  and  next  morning 
Lieutenant  Parker  told  me  he  thought  they  were 
on  Hall  Island  ;  so  after  that  I  did  not  go  over 
again. 

While  planning  for  the  expedition  up  the 
Edisto  River,  Colonel  Higginson  was  a  whole 
night  in  the  water,  trying  to  locate  the  rebels  and 
where  their  picket  lines  were  situated.  About 
July  the  boys  went  up  the  Edisto  to  destroy  a 
bridge  on  the  Charleston  and  Savannah  road. 
This  expedition  was  twenty  or  more  miles  into 
the  mainland.  Colonel  Higginson  was  wounded 
in  this  fight  and  the  regiment  nearly  captured. 
The  steamboat  John  Adams  always  assisted  us, 
carrying  soldiers,  provisions,  etc.  She  carried 


MILITARY  EXPEDITIONS  27 

several  guns  and  a  good  gunner,  Edward  Herron. 
Henry  Batchlott,  a  relative  of  mine,  was  a  stew- 
ard on  this  boat.  There  were  two  smaller  boats, 
Governor  Milton  and  the  Enoch  Dean,  in  the 
fleet,  as  these  could  go  up  the  river  better  than 
the  larger  ones  could.  I  often  went  aboard  the 
John  Adams.  It  went  with  us  into  Jacksonville, 
to  Cole  and  Folly  Island,  and  Gunner  Herron  was 
always  ready  to  send  a  shell  at  the  enemy. 

One  night,  Companies  K  and  E,  on  their  way 
to  Pocotaligo  to  destroy  a  battery  that  was  situ- 
ated down  the  river,  captured  several  prisoners. 
The  rebels  nearly  captured  Sergeant  King,  who, 
as  he  sprang  and  caught  a  "  reb,"  fell  over  an 
embankment.  In  falling  he  did  not  release  his 
hold  on  his  prisoner.  Although  his  hip  was  se- 
verely injured,  he  held  fast  until  some  of  his  com- 
rades came  to  his  aid  and  pulled  them  up.  These 
expeditions  were  very  dangerous.  Sometimes  the 
men  had  to  go  five  or  ten  miles  during  the  night 
over  on  the  rebel  side  and  capture  or  destroy 
whatever  they  could  find. 

While  at  Camp  Shaw,  there  was  a  deserter  who 
came  into  Beaufort.  He  was  allowed  his  freedom 
about  the  city  and  was  not  molested.  He  re- 
mained about  the  place  a  little  while  and  returned 
to  the  rebels  again.  On  his  return  to  Beaufort  a 
second  time,  he  was  held  as  a  spy,  tried,  and  sen- 
tenced to  death,  for  he  was  a  traitor.  The  day 
he  was  shot,  he  was  placed  on  a  hearse  with  his 


28  REMINISCENCES 

coffin  inside,  a  guard  was  placed  either  side  of  the 
hearse,  and  he  was  driven  through  the  town.  All 
the  soldiers  and  people  in  town  were  out,  as  this 
was  to  be  a  warning  to  the  soldiers.  Our  regi- 
ment was  in  line  on  dress  parade.  They  drove 
with  him  to  the  rear  of  our  camp,  where  he  was 
shot.  I  shall  never  forget  this  scene. 

While  at  Camp  Shaw,  Chaplain  Fowler,  Robert 
Defoe,  and  several  of  our  boys  were  captured 
while  tapping  some  telegraph  wires.  Robert  De- 
foe was  confined  in  the  jail  at  Walterborough, 
S.  C.,  for  about  twenty  months.  When  Sherman's 
army  reached  Pocotaligo  he  made  his  escape  and 
joined  his  company  (Company  G).  He  had  not 
been  paid,  as  he  had  refused  the  reduced  pay  of- 
fered by  the  government.  Before  we  got  to  camp, 
where  the  pay-rolls  could  be  made  out,  he  sickened 
and  died  of  small-pox,  and  was  buried  at  Savan- 
nah, never  having  been  paid  one  cent  for  nearly 
three  years  of  service.  He  left  no  heirs  and  his 
account  was  never  settled. 

In  winter,  when  it  was  very  cold,  I  would  take 
a  mess-pan,  put  a  little  earth  in  the  bottom,  and 
go  to  the  cook-shed  and  fill  it  nearly  full  of  coals, 
carry  it  back  to  my  tent  and  put  another  pan 
over  it ;  so  when  the  provost  guard  went  through 
camp  after  taps,  they  would  not  see  the  light,  as 
it  was  against  the  rules  to  have  a  light  after  taps. 
In  this  way  I  was  heated  and  kept  very  warm. 

A  mess-pan  is  made  of  sheet  iron,  something 


MAJOR  H.  A.  WHITNEY  LIEUT.  J.  B.  WEST 

HENRY  BATCHLOTT 
STEWARD  OF  THE  JOHN  ADAMS 


MILITARY  EXPEDITIONS  29 

like  our  roasting  pans,  only  they  are  nearly  as 
large  round  as  a  peck  measure,  but  not  so  deep. 
We  had  fresh  beef  once  in  a  while,  and  we  would 
have  soup,  and  the  vegetables  they  put  in  this 
soup  were  dried  and  pressed.  They  looked  like 
hops.  Salt  beef  was  our  stand-by.  Sometimes 
the  men  would  have  what  we  called  slap-jacks. 
This  was  flour,  made  into  bread  and  spread  thin 
on  the  bottom  of  the  mess-pan  to  cook.  Each 
man  had  one  of  them,  with  a  pint  of  tea,  for  his 
supper,  or  a  pint  of  tea  and  five  or  six  hard-tack. 
I  often  got  my  own  meals,  and  would  fix  some 
dishes  for  the  non-commissioned  officers  also. 

Mrs.  Chamberlain,  our  quartermaster's  wife, 
was  with  us  here.  She  was  a  beautiful  woman ; 
I  can  see  her  pleasant  face  before  me  now,  as  she, 
with  Captain  Trowbridge,  would  sit  and  converse 
with  me  in  my  tent  two  or  three  hours  at  a  time. 
She  was  also  with  me  on  Cole  Island,  and  I  think 
we  were  the  only  women  with  the  regiment  while 
there.  I  remember  well  how,  when  she  first  came 
into  camp,  Captain  Trowbridge  brought  her  to 
my  tent  and  introduced  her  to  me.  I  found  her 
then,  as  she  remained  ever  after,  a  lovely  person, 
and  I  always  admired  her  cordial  and  friendly 
ways. 

Our  boys  would  say  to  me  sometimes,  "  Mrs. 
King,  why  is  it  you  are  so  kind  to  us  ?  you  treat 
us  just  as  you  do  the  boys  in  your  own  company." 
I  replied,  "  Well,  you  know,  all  the  boys  in  other 


30  REMINISCENCES 

companies  are  the  same  to  me  as  those  in  my 
Company  E ;  you  are  all  doing  the  same  duty, 
and  I  will  do  just  the  same  for  you."  "  Yes,"  they 
would  say,  "  we  know  that,  because  you  were  the 
first  woman  we  saw  when  we  came  into  camp,  and 
you  took  an  interest  in  us  boys  ever  since  we  have 
been  here,  and  we  are  very  grateful  for  all  you  do 
for  us." 

When  at  Camp  Shaw,  I  visited  the  hospital  in 
Beaufort,  where  I  met  Clara  Barton.  There 
were  a  number  of  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  there, 
and  I  went  often  to  see  the  comrades.  Miss  Bar- 
tpn  was  always  very  cordial  toward  me,  and  I 
honored  her  for  her  devotion  and  care  of  those 
men. 

There  was  a  man,  John  Johnson,  who  with  his 
family  was  taken  by  our  regiment  at  Edisto. 
This  man  afterwards  worked  in  the  hospital  and 
was  well  known  to  Miss  Barton.  I  have  been  told 
since  that  when  she  went  South,  in  1883,  she  tried 
to  look  this  man  up,  but  learned  he  was  dead. 
His  son  is  living  in  Edisto,  Rev.  J.  J.  .Johnson, 
and  is  the  president  of  an  industrial  school  on 
that  island  and  a  very  intelligent  man.  He  was 
a  small  child  when  his  father  and  family  were 
captured  by  our  regiment  at  Edisto. 


VI 

ON  MORRIS  AND  OTHER  ISLANDS 

FORT  WAGNER  being  only  a  mile  from  our  camp, 
I  went  there  two  or  three  times  a  week,  and 
would  go  up  on  the  ramparts  to  watch  the  gunners 
send  their  shells  into  Charleston  (which  they  did 
every  fifteen  minutes),  and  had  a  full  view  of  the 
city  from  that  point.  Outside  of  the  fort  were 
many  skulls  lying  about ;  I  have  often  moved  them 
one  side  out  of  the  path.  The  comrades  and  I 
would  have  quite  a  debate  as  to  which  side  the 
men  fought  on.  Some  thought  they  were  the 
skulls  of  our  boys ;  others  thought  they  were  the 
enemy's;  but  as  there  was  no  definite  way  to 
know,  it  was  never  decided  which  could  lay  claim 
to  them.  They  were  a  gruesome  sight,  those 
fleshless  heads  and  grinning  jaws,  but  by  this  time 
I  had  become  accustomed  to  worse  things  and  did 
not  feel  as  I  might  have  earlier  in  my  camp  life. 

It  seems  strange  how  our  aversion  to  seeing  suf- 
fering is  overcome  in  war,  —  how  we  are  able  to 
see  the  most  sickening  sights,  such  as  men  with 
their  limbs  blown  off  and  mangled  by  the  deadly 
shells,  without  a  shudder ;  and  instead  of  turning 
away,  how  we  hurry  to  assist  in  alleviating  their 


32  REMINISCENCES 

pain,  bind  up  their  wounds,  and  press  the  cool 
water  to  their  parched  lips,  with  feelings  only  of 
sympathy  and  pity. 

About  the  first  of  June,  1864,  the  regiment 
was  ordered  to  Folly  Island,  staying  there  until 
the  latter  part  of  the  month,  when  it  was  ordered 
to  Morris  Island.  We  landed  on  Morris  Island 
between  June  and  Juty,  1864.  This  island  was 
a  narrow  strip  of  sandy  soil,  nothing  growing  on 
it  but  a  few  bushes  and  shrubs.  The  camp  was 
one  mile  from  the  boat  landing,  called  Pawnell 
Landing,  and  the  landing  one  mile  from  Fort 
Wagner. 

Colonel  Higginson  had  left  us  in  May  of  this 
year,  on  account  of  wounds  received  at  Edisto. 
All  the  men  were  sorry  to  lose  him.  They  did 
not  want  him  to  go,  they  loved  him  so.  He  was 
kind  and  devoted  to  his  men,  thoughtful  for  their 
comfort,  and  we  missed  his  genial  presence  from 
the  camp. 

The  regiment  under  Colonel  Trowbridge  did 
garrison  duty,  but  they  had  troublesome  times 
from  Fort  Gregg,  on  James  Island,  for  the  rebels 
would  throw  a  shell  over  on  our  island  every  now 
and  then.  Finally  orders  were  received  for  the 
boys  to  prepare  to  take  Fort  Gregg,  each  man  to 
take  150  rounds  of  cartridges,  canteens  of  water, 
hard-tack,  and  salt  beef.  This  order  was  sent 
three  days  prior  to  starting,  to  allow  them  to  be 
in  readiness.  I  helped  as  many  as  I  could  to 
pack  haversacks  and  cartridge  boxes. 


ON  MORRIS  AND  OTHER  ISLANDS       33 

The  fourth  day,  about  five  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, the  call  was  sounded,  and  I  heard  the  first 
sergeant  say,  "  Fall  in,  boys,  fall  in,"  and  they 
were  not  long  obeying  the  command.  Each  com- 
pany marched  out  of  its  street,  in  front  of  their 
colonel's  headquarters,  where  they  rested  for  half 
an  hour,  as  it  was  not  dark  enough,  and  they  did 
not  want  the  enemy  to  have  a  chance  to  spy  their 
movements.  At  the  end  of  this  time  the  line  was 
formed  with  the  103d  New  York  (white)  in  the 
rear,  and  off  they  started,  eager  to  get  to  work. 
It  was  quite  dark  by  the  time  they  reached  Paw- 
nell  Landing.  I  have  never  forgotten  the  good- 
bys  of  that  day,  as  they  left  camp.  Colonel 
Trowbridge  said  to  me  as  he  left,  "  Good-by, 
Mrs.  King,  take  care  of  yourself  if  you  don't  see 
us  again."  I  went  with  them  as  far  as  the  land- 
ing, and  watched  them  until  they  got  out  of  sight, 
and  then  I  returned  to  the  camp.  There  was  no 
one  at  camp  but  those  left  on  picket  and  a  few 
disabled  soldiers,  and  one  woman,  a  friend  of 
mine,  Mary  Shaw,  and  it  was  lonesome  and  sad, 
now  that  the  boys  were  gone,  some  never  to  re- 
turn. 

Mary  Shaw  shared  my  tent  that  night,  and  we 
went  to  bed,  but  not  to  sleep,  for  the  fleas  nearly 
ate  us  alive.  We  caught  a  few,  but  it  did  seem, 
now  that  the  men  were  gone,  that  every  flea  in 
camp  had  located  my  tent,  and  caused  us  to  va- 
cate. Sleep  being  out  of  the  question,  we  sat  up 
the  remainder  of  the  night. 


34  REMINISCENCES 

About  four  o'clock,  July  2,  the  charge  was 
made.  The  firing  could  be  plainly  heard  in 
camp.  I  hastened  down  to  the  landing  and  re- 
mained there  until  eight  o'clock  that  morning. 
When  the  wounded  arrived,  or  rather  began  to 
arrive,  the  first  one  brought  in  was  Samuel  An- 
derson of  our  company.  He  was  badly  wounded. 
Then  others  of  our  boys,  some  with  their  legs  off, 
arm  gone,  foot  off,  and  wounds  of  all  kinds  ima- 
ginable. They  had  to  wade  through  creeks  and 
marshes,  as  they  were  discovered  by  the  enemy 
and  shelled  very  badly.  A  number  of  the  men 
were  lost,  some  got  fastened  in  the  mud  and  had 
to  cut  off  the  legs  of  their  pants,  to  free  them- 
selves. The  103d  New  York  suffered  the  most, 
as  their  men  were  very  badly  wounded. 

My  work  now  began.  I  gave  my  assistance  to 
try  to  alleviate  their  sufferings.  I  asked  the  doc- 
tor at  the  hospital  what  I  could  get  for  them  to 
eat.  They  wanted  soup,  but  that  I  could  not  get ; 
but  I  had  a  few  cans  of  condensed  milk  and  some 
turtle  eggs,  so  I  thought  I  would  try  to  make 
some  custard.  I  had  doubts  as  to  my  success, 
for  cooking  with  turtle  eggs  was  something  new 
to  me,  but  the  adage  has  it,  "  Nothing  ventured, 
nothing  done,"  so  I  made  a  venture  and  the  re- 
sult was  a  very  delicious  custard.  This  I  carried 
to  the  men,  who  enjoyed  it  very  much.  My  ser- 
vices were  given  at  all  times  for  the  comfort  of 
these  men.  I  was  on  hand  to  assist  whenever 


ON  MORRIS  AND  OTHER  ISLANDS       35 

needed.  I  was  enrolled  as  company  laundress, 
but  I  did  very  little  of  it,  because  I  was  always 
busy  doing  other  things  through  camp,  and  was 
employed  all  the  time  doing  something  for  the 
officers  and  comrades. 

After  this  fight,  the  regiment  did  not  return 
to  the  camp  for  one  month.  They  were  ordered 
to  Cole  Island  in  September,  where  they  remained 
until  October.  About  November  1,  1864,  six 
companies  were  detailed  to  go  to  Gregg  Landing, 
Port  Koyal  Ferry,  and  the  rebels  in  some  way 
found  out  some  of  our  forces  had  been  removed 
and  gave  our  boys  in  camp  a  hard  time  of  it,  for 
several  nights.  In  fact,  one  night  it  was  thought 
the  boys  would  have  to  retreat.  The  colonel  told 
me  to  go  down  to  the  landing,  and  if  they  were 
obliged  to  retreat,  I  could  go  aboard  one  of  our 
gunboats.  One  of  the  gunboats  got  in  the  rear, 
and  began  to  shell  General  Beauregard's  force, 
which  helped  our  boys  retain  their  possession. 

About  November  15,  I  received  a  letter  from 
Sergeant  King,  saying  the  boys  were  still  lying 
three  miles  from  Gregg  Landing  and  had  not 
had  a  fight  yet ;  that  the  rebels  were  waiting  on 
them  and  they  on  the  rebels,  and  each  were  hold- 
ing their  own ;  also  that  General  Sherman  had 
taken  Fort  McAllister,  eight  miles  from  Savan- 
nah. After  receiving  this  letter  I  wanted  to  get 
to  Beaufort,  so  I  could  be  near  to  them  and  so 
be  able  to  get  news  from  my  husband.  November 


36  REMINISCENCES 

23  I  got  a  pass  for  Beaufort.  I  arrived  at  Hil- 
ton Head  about  three  o'clock  next  day,  but  there 
had  been  a  battle,  and  a  steamer  arrived  with  a 
number  of  wounded  men ;  so  I  could  not  get  a 
transfer  to  Beaufort.  The  doctor  wished  me  to 
remain  over  until  Monday.  I  did  not  want  to 
stay.  I  was  anxious  to  get  off,  as  I  knew  no  one 
at  Hilton  Head. 

I  must  mention  a  pet  pig  we  had  on  Cole  Island. 
Colonel  Trowbridge  brought  into  camp,  one  day, 
a  poor,  thin  little  pig,  which  a  German  soldier 
brought  back  with  him  on  his  return  from  a 
furlough.  His  regiment,  the  74th  Pennsylvania, 
was  just  embarking  for  the  North,  where  it  was 
ordered  to  join  the  10th  corps,  and  he  could  not 
take  the  pig  back  with  him,  so  he  gave  it  to  our 
colonel.  That  pig  grew  to  be  the  pet  of  the 
camp,  and  was  the  special  care  of  the  drummer 
boys,  who  taught  him  many  tricks ;  and  so  well 
did  they  train  him  that  every  day  at  practice  and 
dress  parade,  his  pigship  would  march  out  with 
them,  keeping  perfect  time  with  their  music. 
The  drummers  would  often  disturb  the  devotions 
by  riding  this  pig  into  the  midst  of  evening  praise 
meeting,  and  many  were  the  complaints  made  to 
the  colonel,  but  he  was  always  very  lenient  to- 
wards the  boys,  for  he  knew  they  only  did  this 
for  mischief.  I  shall  never  forget  the  fun  we 
had  in  camp  with  "  Piggie." 


LIEUT.  JOHN  A.  TROWBRIDGE 

LIEUT.  ELI  C.  MERRIAM  LIEUT.  JAMES  M.  THOMPSON 

LIEUT.  JEROME  T.  FURMAN 


VII 

CAST  AWAY 

THERE  was  a  yacht  that  carried  passengers 
from  Hilton  Head  to  Beaufort.  There  were  also 
five  small  boats  which  carried  people  over.  The 
only  people  here,  beside  the  soldiers,  were  Mrs. 
Lizzie  Brown,  who  came  over  on  a  permit  to 
see  her  husband,  who  was  at  this  place,  and  was 
very  ill  (he  died  while  she  was  there),  Corporal 
Walker's  wife,  with  her  two  years  old  child,  and 
Mrs.  Seabrooke.  As  soon  as  we  could  get  the 
yacht,  these  persons  I  have  mentioned,  together 
with  a  comrade  just  discharged,  an  officer's  boy, 
and  myself,  took  passage  on  it  for  Beaufort.  It 
was  nearly  dark  before  we  had  gone  any  distance, 
and  about  eight  o'clock  we  were  cast  away  and 
were  only  saved  through  the  mercy  of  God.  I 
remember  going  down  twice.  As  I  rose  the 
second  time,  I  caught  hold  of  the  sail  and  man- 
aged to  hold  fast.  Mrs.  Walker  held  on  to  her 
child  with  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  she 
managed  to  hold  fast  to  some  part  of  the  boat, 
and  we  drifted  and  shouted  as  loud  as  we  could, 
trying  to  attract  the  attention  of  some  of  the  gov- 
ernment boats  which  were  going  up  and  down 


38  REMINISCENCES 

the  river.  But  it  was  in  vain,  we  could  not  make 
ourselves  heard,  and  just  when  we  gave  up  all 
hope,  and  in  the  last  moment  (as  we  thought) 
gave  one  more  despairing  cry,  we  were  heard  at 
Ladies'  Island.  Two  boats  were  put  off  and  a 
search  was  made,  to  locate  our  distressed  boat. 
They  found  us  at  last,  nearly  dead  from  exposure. 
In  fact,  the  poor  little  baby  was  dead,  although 
her  mother  still  held  her  by  her  clothing,  with 
her  teeth.  The  soldier  was  drowned,  having  been 
caught  under  the  sail  and  pinned  down.  The 
rest  of  us  were  saved.  I  had  to  be  carried  bodily, 
as  I  was  thoroughly  exhausted.  We  were  given 
the  best  attention  that  we  could  get  at  this  place 
where  we  were  picked  up.  The  men  who  saved 
us  were  surprised  when  they  found  me  among  the 
passengers,  as  one  of  them,  William  Geary,  of 
Darien,  Georgia,  was  a  friend  of  my  husband. 
His  mother  lived  about  two  miles  from  where  we 
were  picked  up,  and  she  told  me  she  had  heard 
cries  for  a  long  time  that  night,  and  was  very  un- 
easy about  it.  Finally,  she  said  to  her  son,  "  I 
think  some  poor  souls  are  cast  away."  "  I  don't 
think  so,  mother,"  he  replied ;  "  I  saw  some  peo- 
ple going  down  the  river  to-day.  You  know  this 
is  Christmas,  and  they  are  having  a  good  time." 
But  she  still  persisted  that  these  were  cries  of 
distress,  and  not  of  joy,  and  begged  him  to  go 
out  and  see.  So  to  satisfy  her,  he  went  outside 
and  listened,  and  then  he  heard  them  also,  and 


CAST  AWAY  39 

hastened  to  get  the  boats  off  to  find  us.  We 
were  capsized  about  8.15  P.  M.  and  it  was  near 
midnight  when  they  found  us.  Next  day,  they 
kept  a  sharp  lookout  on  the  beach  for  anything 
that  might  be  washed  in  from  the  yacht,  and  got 
a  trunk  and  several  other  things.  Had  the  tide 
been  going  out,  we  should  have  been  carried  to 
sea  and  lost. 

I  was  very  ill  and  under  the  doctor's  care  for 
some  time,  in  Beaufort.  The  doctor  said  I  ought 
to  have  been  rolled,  as  I  had  swallowed  so  much 
water.  In  January,  1865,  I  went  back  to  Cole 
Island,  where  I  could  be  attended  by  my  doctor, 
Dr.  Miner,  who  did  all  in  his  power  to  alleviate 
my  suffering,  for  I  was  swollen  very  much.  This 
he  reduced  and  I  recovered,  but  had  a  severe 
cough  for  a  long  time  afterward. 


VIII 

A  FLAG   OF  TRUCE 

IN  October,  1864,  six  companies  of  the  regi- 
ment were  ordered  to  Gregg  Landing,  S.  C. 
Captain  L.  W.  Metcalf ,  of  Co.  G,  was  appointed 
on  General  Saxton's  staff  as  provost  captain, 
Lieutenant  James  B.  West  acting  as  assistant 
general.  As  in  some  way  our  mail  had  been  sent 
over  to  the  Confederate  side  and  their  mail  to 
us,  Captain  Metcalf  and  Lieutenant  West  were 
detailed  to  exchange  these  letters  under  a  flag  of 
truce.  So,  with  an  escort  of  six  men  of  the  com- 
panies at  Port  Royal  Ferry,  the  flag  was  unfurled 
and  the  message  shouted  across  the  river  to  the 
Confederates.  Captain  Metcalf  asked  them  to 
come  over  to  our  side  under  the  protection  of  our 
flag  of  truce.  This  the  Confederates  refused  to 
do,  having  for  their  excuse  that  their  boat  was 
too  far  up  the  river  and  so  they  had  no  way  to 
cross  the  river  to  us.  They  asked  Metcalf  to 
cross  to  them.  He  at  once  ordered  his  men  to 
"stack  arms,"  the  Confederates  following  suit, 
and  his  boys  in  blue  rowed  him  over,  and  he  de- 
livered the  message,  after  having  introduced  him- 
self to  the  rebel  officers.  One  of  these  officers 


CAPT.  L.  W.  METCALF 

CAPT.  MIRON  W.  SAXTON  CAPT.  A.  W.  JACKSON 

CORPORAL  PETER  WAGGALL 


A  FLAG  OF  TRUCE  41 

was  Major  Jones,  of  Alabama,  the  other  Lieuten- 
ant Scott,  of  South  Carolina.  Major  Jones  was 
very  cordial  to  our  captain,  but  Lieutenant  Scott 
would  not  extend  his  hand,  and  stood  aside,  in 
sullen  silence,  looking  as  if  he  would  like  to  take 
revenge  then  and  there.  Major  Jones  said  to 
Captain  Metcalf ,  "  We  have  no  one  to  fight  for. 
Should  I  meet  you  again,  I  shall  not  forget  we 
have  met  before."  With  this  he  extended  his 
hand  to  Metcalf  and  bade  him  good-by,  but  Lieu- 
tenant Scott  stood  by  and  looked  as  cross  as  he 
possibly  could.  The  letters  were  exchanged,  but 
it  seemed  a  mystery  just  how  those  letters  got  mis- 
sent  to  the  opposite  sides.  Captain  Metcalf  said 
he  did  not  feel  a  mite  comfortable  while  he  was 
on  the  Confederate  soil ;  as  for  his  men,  you  can 
imagine  their  thoughts.  I  asked  them  how  they 
felt  on  the  other  side,  and  they  said,  "  We  would 
have  felt  much  better  if  we  had  had  our  guns  with 
us."  It  was  a  little  risky,  for  sometimes  the  flag 
of  truce  is  not  regarded,  but  even  among  the 
enemy  there  are  some  good  and  loyal  persons. 

Captain  Metcalf  is  still  living  in  Medf  ord.  He 
is  71  years  old,  and  just  as  loyal  to  the  old  flag 
and  the  G.  A.  R.  as  he  was  from  1861  to  1866, 
when  he  was  mustered  out.  He  was  a  brave  cap- 
tain, a  good  officer,  and  was  honored  and  beloved 
by  all  in  the  regiment. 


IX 

CAPTUEE  OP  CHAELE8TON 

ON  February  28,  1865,  the  remainder  of  the 
regiment  were  ordered  to  Charleston,  as  there 
were  signs  of  the  rebels  evacuating  that  city. 
Leaving  Cole  Island,  we  arrived  in  Charleston 
between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
found  the  "  rebs  "  had  set  fire  to  the  city  and  fled, 
leaving  women  and  children  behind  to  suffer  and 
perish  in  the  flames.  The  fire  had  been  burning 
fiercely  for  a  day  and  night.  When  we  landed, 
under  a  flag  of  truce,  our  regiment  went  to  work 
assisting  the  citizens  in  subduing  the  flames.  It 
was  a  terrible  scene.  For  three  or  four  days  the 
men  fought  the  fire,  saving  the  property  and 
effects  of  the  people,  yet  these  white  men  and 
women  could  not  tolerate  our  black  Union  sol- 
diers, for  many  of  them  had  formerly  been  their 
slaves  ;  and  although  these  brave  men  risked  life 
and  limb  to  assist  them  in  their  distress,  men 
and  even  women  would  sneer  and  molest  them 
whenever  they  met  them. 

I  had  quarters  assigned  me  at  a  residence  on 
South  Battery  Street,  one  of  the  most  aristocratic 
parts  of  the  city,  where  I  assisted  in  caring  for 


CAPTURE  OP  CHARLESTON  43 

the  sick  and  injured  comrades.  After  getting  the 
fire  under  control,  the  regiment  marched  out  to 
the  race  track,  where  they  camped  until  March 
12,  when  we  were  ordered  to  Savannah,  Ga. 
We  arrived  there  on  the  13th,  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  and  marched  out  to  Fairlong,  near 
the  A.  &  G.  E.  K.,  where  we  remained  about  ten 
days,  when  we  were  ordered  to  Augusta,  Ga., 
where  Captain  Alexander  Heasley,  of  Co.  E, 
was  shot  and  killed  by  a  Confederate.  After  his 
death  Lieutenant  Parker  was  made  captain  of  the 
company,  and  was  with  us  until  the  regiment  was 
mustered  out.  He  often  told  me  about  Massa- 
chusetts, but  I  had  no  thought  at  that  time  that 
I  should  ever  see  that  State,  and  stand  in  the 
"  Cradle  of  Liberty." 

The  regiment  remained  in  Augusta  for  thirty 
days,  when  it  was  ordered  to  Hamburg,  S.  C.,  and 
then  on  to  Charleston.  It  was  while  on  their 
march  through  the  country,  to  the  latter  city, 
that  they  came  in  contact  with  the  bushwhack- 
ers (as  the  rebels  were  called),  who  hid  in  the 
bushes  and  would  shoot  the  Union  boys  every 
chance  they  got.  Other  times  they  would  conceal 
themselves  in  the  cars  used  to  transfer  our  soldiers, 
and  when  our  boys,  worn  out  and  tired,  would  fall 
asleep,  these  men  would  come  out  from  their  hid- 
ing places  and  cut  their  throats.  Several  of  our 
men  were  killed  in  this  way,  but  it  could  not  be 
found  out  who  was  committing  these  murders  un- 


44  REMINISCENCES 

til  one  night  one  of  the  rebels  was  caught  in  the 
act,  trying  to  cut  the  throat  of  a  sleeping  sol- 
dier. He  was  put  under  guard,  court-martialed, 
and  shot  at  Wall  Hollow. 

First  Lieutenant  Jerome  T.  Furman  and  a  num- 
ber of  soldiers  were  killed  by  these  South  Carolina 
bushwhackers  at  Wall  Hollow.  After  this  man 
was  shot,  however,  the  regiment  marched  through 
unmolested  to  Charleston. 


MUSTERED   OUT 

THE  regiment,  under  Colonel  Trowbridge, 
reached  Charleston  in  November,  1865,  and 
camped  on  the  race  track  until  January,  when  they 
returned  to  Morris  Island,  and  on  February  9, 
1866,  the  following  "  General  Orders  "  were  re- 
ceived and  the  regiment  mustered  out. 

They  were  delighted  to  go  home,  but  oh  !  how 
they  hated  to  part  from  their  commanding  chief, 
Colonel  C.  T.  Trowbridge.  He  was  the  very  first 
officer  to  take  charge  of  black  soldiers.  We 
thought  there  was  no  one  like  him,  for  he  was  a 
"  man  "  among  his  soldiers.  All  in  the  regiment 
knew  him  personally,  and  many  were  the  jokes 
he  used  to  tell  them.  I  shall  never  forget  his 
friendship  and  kindness  toward  me,  from  the  first 
time  I  met  him  to  the  end  of  the  war.  There  was 
never  any  one  from  the  North  who  came  into  our 
camp  but  he  would  bring  them  to  see  me. 

While  on  a  visit  South  in  1888,  I  met  a  com- 
rade of  the  regiment,  who  often  said  to  me,  "  You 
up  North,  Mrs.  King,  do  you  ever  see  Colonel 
Trowbridge  ?  How  I  should  like  to  see  him  !  I 
don't  see  why  he  does  not  come  South  sometime. 


46  REMINISCENCES 

Why,  I  would  take  a  day  off  and  look  up  all  the 
4  boys '  I  could  find,  if  I  knew  he  was  coming." 
I  knew  this  man  meant  what  he  said,  for  the  men 
of  the  regiment  knew  Colonel  Trowbridge  first  of 
all  the  other  officers.  He  was  with  them  on  St. 
Simon  and  at  Camp  Saxton.  I  remember  when 
the  company  was  being  formed,  we  wished  Cap- 
tain C.  T.  was  our  captain,  because  most  of  the 
men  in  Co.  E  were  the  men  he  brought  with  him 
from  St.  Simon,  and  they  were  attached  to  him. 
He  was  always  jolly  and  pleasing  with  all.  I  re- 
member, when  going  into  Savannah  in  1865,  he 
said  that  he  had  been  there  before  the  war,  and 
told  me  many  things  I  did  not  know  about  the 
river.  Although  this  was  my  home,  I  had  never 
been  on  it  before.  No  officer  in  the  army  was 
more  beloved  than  our  late  lieutenant-colonel,  C. 
T.  Trowbridge. 

[Copy  of  General  Orders. ~\ 
"GENERAL   ORDERS. 

"  HEADQUARTERS  33o  U.  S.  C.  T., 
"  LATE  IST  So.  CAROLINA  VOLUNTEERS, 
"  MORRIS  ISLAND,  S.  C.,  Feb.  9,  1866. 
"  General  Order, ") 
"No.  1.         j 

"  COMRADES  :  The  hour  is  at  hand  when  we 
must  separate  forever,  and  nothing  can  take  from 
us  the  pride  we  feel,  when  we  look  upon  the  his- 
tory of  the  '  First  South  Carolina  Volunteers,' 


C.  T.  TROWBRIDGE 
LIEUT.  COL.  330  U.  S.  C.  T. 


MUSTERED   OUT  47 

the  first  black  regiment  that  ever  bore  arms  in 
defense  of  freedom  on  the  continent  of  America. 

"  On  the  9th  day  of  May,  1862,  at  which  time 
there  were  nearly  four  millions  of  your  race  in 
bondage,  sanctioned  by  the  laws  of  the  land  and 
protected  by  our  flag,  —  on  that  day,  in  the  face 
of  the  floods  of  prejudice  that  well-nigh  deluged 
every  avenue  to  manhood  and  true  liberty,  you 
came  forth  to  do  battle  for  your  country  and 
kindred. 

"  For  long  and  weary  months,  without  pay  or 
even  the  privilege  of  being  recognized  as  soldiers, 
you  labored  on,  only  to  be  disbanded  and  sent  to 
your  homes  without  even  a  hope  of  reward,  and 
when  our  country,  necessitated  by  the  deadly 
struggle  with  armed  traitors,  finally  granted  you 
the  opportunity  again  to  come  forth  in  defense 
of  the  nation's  life,  the  alacrity  with  which  you 
responded  to  the  call  gave  abundant  evidence  of 
your  readiness  to  strike  a  manly  blow  for  the 
liberty  of  your  race.  And  from  that  little  band 
of  hopeful,  trusting,  and  brave  men  who  gathered 
at  Camp  Saxton,  on  Port  Royal  Island,  in  the  fall 
of  '62,  amidst  the  terrible  prejudices  that  sur- 
rounded us,  has  grown  an  army  of  a  hundred  and 
forty  thousand  black  soldiers,  whose  valor  and 
heroism  has  won  for  your  race  a  name  which 
will  live  as  long  as  the  undying  pages  of  history 
shall  endure ;  and  by  whose  efforts,  united  with 
those  of  the  white  man,  armed  rebellion  has  been 


48  REMINISCENCES 

conquered,  the  millions  of  bondsmen  have  been 
emancipated,  and  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land 
has  been  so  altered  as  to  remove  forever  the  pos- 
sibility of  human  slavery  being  established  within 
the  borders  of  redeemed  America.  The  flag  of 
our  fathers,  restored  to  its  rightful  significance, 
now  floats  over  every  foot  of  our  territory,  from 
Maine  to  California,  and  beholds  only  free  men ! 
The  prejudices  which  formerly  existed  against 
you  are  well-nigh  rooted  out. 

"  Soldiers,  you  have  done  your  duty  and  ac- 
quitted yourselves  like  men  who,  actuated  by  such 
ennobling  motives,  could  not  fail ;  and  as  the  re- 
sult of  your  fidelity  and  obedience  you  have  won 
your  freedom,  and  oh,  how  great  the  reward ! 
It  seems  fitting  to  me  that  the  last  hours  of  our 
existence  as  a  regiment  should  be  passed  amidst 
the  unmarked  graves  of  your  comrades,  at  Fort 
Wagner.  Near  you  rest  the  bones  of  Colonel 
Shaw,  buried  by  an  enemy's  hand  in  the  same 
grave  with  his  black  soldiers  who  fell  at  his  side  ; 
where  in  the  future  your  children's  children  will 
come  on  pilgrimages  to  do  homage  to  the  ashes  of 
those  who  fell  in  this  glorious  struggle. 

"  The  flag  which  was  presented  to  us  by  the  Rev. 
George  B.  Cheever  and  his  congregation,  of  New 
York  city,  on  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  —  the  day 
when  Lincoln's  immortal  proclamation  of  freedom 
was  given  to  the  world,  —  and  which  you  have 
borne  so  nobly  through  the  war,  is  now  to  be 


MUSTERED  OUT  49 

rolled  up  forever  and  deposited  in  our  nation's 
capital.  And  while  there  it  shall  rest,  with  the 
battles  in  which  you  have  participated  inscribed 
upon  its  folds,  it  will  be  a  source  of  pride  to  us 
all  to  remember  that  it  has  never  been  disgraced 
by  a  cowardly  faltering  in  the  hour  of  danger,  or 
polluted  by  a  traitor's  touch. 

"  Now  that  you  are  to  lay  aside  your  arms,  I  ad- 
jure you,  by  the  associations  and  history  of  the 
past,  and  the  love  you  bear  for  your  liberties,  to 
harbor  no  feelings  of  hatred  toward  your  former 
masters,  but  to  seek  in  the  paths  of  honesty,  vir- 
tue, sobriety,  and  industry,  and  by  a  willing  obe- 
dience to  the  laws  of  the  land,  to  grow  up  to  the 
full  stature  of  American  citizens.  The  church, 
the  school-house,  and  the  right  forever  to  be  free 
are  now  secured  to  you,  and  every  prospect  be- 
fore you  is  full  of  hope  and  encouragement.  The 
nation  guarantees  to  you  full  protection  and  jus- 
tice, and  will  require  from  you  in  return  that  re- 
spect for  the  laws  and  orderly  deportment  which 
will  prove  to  every  one  your  right  to  all  the  priv- 
ileges of  freemen.  To  the  officers  of  the  regi- 
ment I  would  say,  your  toils  are  ended,  your 
mission  is  fulfilled,  and  we  separate  forever.  The 
fidelity,  patience,  and  patriotism  with  which  you 
have  discharged  your  duties  to  your  men  and 
to  your  country  entitle  you  to  a  far  higher  trib- 
ute than  any  words  of  thankfulness  which  I  can 
give  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  You  will 


50  REMINISCENCES 

find  your  reward  in  the  proud  conviction  that  the 
cause  for  which  you  have  battled  so  nobly  has 
been  crowned  with  abundant  success. 

"  Officers  and  soldiers  of  the  33d  U.  S.  Colored 
Troops,  once  the  First  So.  Carolina  Volunteers, 
I  bid  you  all  farewell ! 

"  By  order  of 

"  LT.  COLONEL  C.  T.  TROWBRIDGE, 

"  Commanding  regiment. 
"E.  W.  HYDE, 
"  1st  Lieut.  33d  U.  S.  C.  T.  and  acting  adjutant." 

I  have  one  of  the  original  copies  of  these  orders 
still  in  my  possession. 

My  dear  friends !  do  we  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  war  ?  Do  we  know  or  think  of  that  war 
of  '61  ?  No,  we  do  not,  only  those  brave  soldiers, 
and  those  who  had  occasion  to  be  in  it,  can  real- 
ize what  it  was.  I  can  and  shall  never  forget 
that  terrible  war  until  my  eyes  close  in  death. 
The  scenes  are  just  as  fresh  in  my  mind  to-day  as 
in  '61.  I  see  now  each  scene,  —  the  roll-call,  the 
drum  tap,  "lights  out,"  the  call  at  night  when 
there  was  danger  from  the  enemy,  the  double 
force  of  pickets,  the  cold  and  rain.  How  anxious 
I  would  be,  not  knowing  what  would  happen  be- 
fore morning !  Many  times  I  would  dress,  not 
sure  but  all  would  be  captured.  Other  times  I 
would  stand  at  my  tent  door  and  try  to  see  what 
was  going  on,  because  night  was  the  time  the 


MUSTERED  OUT  51 

rebels  would  try  to  get  into  our  lines  and  capture 
some  of  the  boys.  It  was  mostly  at  night  that 
our  men  went  out  for  their  scouts,  and  often  had 
a  hand  to  hand  fight  with  the  rebels,  and  although 
our  men  came  out  sometimes  with  a  few  killed 
or  wounded,  none  of  them  ever  were  captured. 

We  do  not,  as  the  black  race,  properly  appre- 
ciate the  old  veterans,  white  or  black,  as  we 
ought  to.  I  know  what  they  went  through,  espe- 
cially those  black  men,  for  the  Confederates  had 
no  mercy  on  them ;  neither  did  they  show  any 
toward  the  white  Union  soldiers.  I  have  seen 
the  terrors  of  that  war.  I  was  the  wife  of  one 
of  those  men  who  did  not  get  a  penny  for  eight- 
een months  for  their  services,  only  their  rations 
and  clothing. 

I  cannot  praise  General  David  Hunter  too 
highly,  for  he  was  the  first  man  to  arm  the  black 
man,  in  the  beginning  of  1862.  He  had  a  hard 
struggle  to  hold  all  the  southern  division,  with 
so  few  men,  so  he  applied  to  Congress ;  but  the 
answer  to  him  was,  "  Do  not  bother  us,"  which 
was  very  discouraging.  As  the  general  needed 
more  men  to  protect  the  islands  and  do  garrison 
duty,  he  organized  two  companies. 

I  look  around  now  and  see  the  comforts  that 
our  younger  generation  enjoy,  and  think  of  the 
blood  that  was  shed  to  make  these  comforts  pos- 
sible for  them,  and  see  how  little  some  of  them 
appreciate  the  old  soldiers.  My  heart  burns 


52  REMINISCENCES 

within  me,  at  this  want  of  appreciation.  There 
are  only  a  few  of  them  left  now,  so  let  us  all,  as 
the  ranks  close,  take  a  deeper  interest  in  them. 
Let  the  younger  generation  take  an  interest  also, 
and  remember  that  it  was  through  the  efforts  of 
these  veterans  that  they  and  we  older  ones  enjoy 
our  liberty  to-day. 


XI 


AFTER  THE  WAR 

IN  1866,  the  steamers  which  ran  from  Savan- 
nah to  Darien  would  not  take  colored  people 
unless  they  stayed  in  a  certain  part  of  the  boat, 
away  from  the  white  people ;  so  some  of  the  col- 
ored citizens  and  ex-soldiers  decided  to  form  a 
syndicate  and  buy  a  steamer  of  their  own.  They 
finally  bought  a  large  one  of  a  New  York  com- 
pany. It  arrived  in  fine  shape,  apparently,  and 
made  its  first  trip  to  Darien.  The  next  trip  was 
to  Beaufort.  I  went  on  this  trip,  as  the  pilot, 
James  Cook,  was  a  friend  of  my  family,  and  I 
thought  I  would  enjoy  the  trip ;  and  I  did,  get- 
ting back  in  safety.  The  next  trip  was  to  go  to 
Florida,  but  it  never  reached  there,  for  on  the 
way  down  the  boat  ran  upon  St.  John  bar  and 
went  entirely  to  pieces.  They  found  out  after- 
wards that  they  had  been  swindled,  as  the  boat 
was  a  condemned  one,  and  the  company  took 
advantage  of  them ;  and  as  they  carried  no  insur- 
ance on  the  boat  they  lost  all  the  money  they  had 
invested  in  it.  The  best  people  of  the  city  ex- 
pressed great  sympathy  for  them  in  their  loss,  as 
it  promised  to  prove  a  great  investment  at  first. 


64  REMINISCENCES 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  my  husband  and  I 
returned  to  Savannah,  a  number  of  the  comrades 
returning  at  the  same  time.  A  new  life  was  be- 
fore us  now,  all  the  old  life  left  behind.  After 
getting  settled,  I  opened  a  school  at  my  home  on 
South  Broad  Street,  now  called  Oglethorpe  Ave- 
nue, as  there  was  not  any  public  school  for  negro 
children.  I  had  twenty  children  at  my  school, 
and  received  one  dollar  a  month  for  each  pupiL 
I  also  had  a  few  older  ones  who  came  at  night. 
There  were  several  other  private  schools  besides 
mine.  Mrs.  Lucinda  Jackson  had  one  on  the 
same  street  I  lived  on. 

I  taught  almost  a  year,  when  the  Beach  Insti- 
tute opened,  which  took  a  number  of  my  scholars, 
as  this  was  a  free  school.  On  September  16, 1866, 
my  husband,  Sergeant  King,  died,  leaving  me 
soon  to  welcome  a  little  stranger  alone.  He  was 
a  boss  carpenter,  but  being  just  mustered  out  of 
the  army,  and  the  prejudice  against  his  race  be- 
ing still  too  strong  to  insure  him  much  work  at 
his  trade,  he  took  contracts  for  unloading  vessels, 
and  hired  a  number  of  men  to  assist  him.  He 
was  much  respected  by  the  citizens,  and  was  a 
general  favorite  with  his  associates. 

In  December,  1866,  I  was  obliged  to  give  up 
teaching,  but  in  April,  1867,  I  opened  a  school 
in  Liberty  County,  Georgia,  and  taught  there  one 
year  ;  but  country  life  did  not  agree  with  me,  so 
I  returned  to  the  city,  and  Mrs.  Susie  Carrier 
took  charge  of  my  school. 


MY  SCHOOLHOUSE  IN  SAVANNAH 


AFTER  THE   WAR  55 

On  my  return  to  Savannah,  I  found  that  the 
free  school  had  taken  all  my  former  pupils,  so  I 
opened  a  night  school,  where  I  taught  a  number 
of  adults.  This,  together  with  other  things  I 
could  get  to  do  and  the  assistance  of  my  brother- 
in-law,  supported  me.  I  taught  this  school  until 
the  fall  of  1868,  when  a  free  night  school  opened 
at  the  Beach  Institute,  and  again  my  scholars 
left  me  to  attend  this  free  school.  So  I  had  to 
close  my  school.  I  put  my  baby  with  my  mother 
and  entered  in  the  employ  of  a  family,  where  I 
lived  quite  a  while,  but  had  to  leave,  as  the  work 
was  too  hard. 

In  1872  I  put  in  a  claim  for  my  husband's 
bounty  and  received  one  hundred  dollars,  some  of 
which  I  put  in  the  Freedmen's  Savings  Bank.  In 
the  fall  of  1872  I  went  to  work  for  a  very  wealthy 
lady,  Mrs.  Charles  Green,  as  laundress.  In  the 
spring  of  1873,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Green  came  North 
to  Rye  Beach  for  the  summer,  and  as  their  cook 
did  not  care  to  go  so  far  from  home,  I  went  with 
them  in  her  place.  While  there,  I  won  a  prize 
for  excellent  cooking  at  a  fair  which  the  ladies 
who  were  summering  there  had  held  to  raise 
funds  to  build  an  Episcopal  Church,  and  Mrs. 
Green  was  one  of  the  energetic  workers  to  make 
this  fair  a  success ;  and  it  was  a  success  in  every 
respect  and  a  tidy  sum  was  netted. 

I  returned  South  with  Mrs.  Green,  and  soon 
after,  she  went  to  Europe.  I  returned  to  Boston 


56  REMINISCENCES 

again  in  1874,  through  the  kindness  of  Mrs. 
Barnard,  a  daughter  of  ex-Mayor  Otis  of  Boston. 
She  was  accompanied  by  her  husband,  Mr.  James 
Barnard  (who  was  an  agent  for  the  line  of 
steamers),  her  six  children,  the  nurse,  and  my- 
self. We  left  Savannah  on  the  steamship  Semi- 
nole,  under  Captain  Matthews,  and  when  we  had 
passed  Hatteras  some  distance,  she  broke  her 
shaft.  The  captain  had  the  sails  hoisted  and  we 
drifted  along,  there  being  a  stiff  breeze,  which 
was  greatly  in  our  favor.  Captain  Matthews  said 
the  nearest  point  he  could  make  was  Cape  Henry 
Light.  About  noon,  Mr.  Barnard  spied  the  light 
and  told  the  captain  if  he  would  give  him  a  boat 
and  some  of  the  crew,  he  would  row  to  the  light 
for  help.  This  was  done,  the  boat  was  manned 
and  they  put  off.  They  made  the  light,  then 
they  made  for  Norfolk,  which  was  eight  miles  from 
the  light,  and  did  not  reach  the  city  until  eight 
o'clock  that  night. 

Next  morning  he  returned  with  a  tug,  to  tow 
us  into  Norfolk  for  repairs  ;  but  the  tug  was  too 
small  to  move  the  steamer,  so  it  went  back  for 
more  help,  but  before  it  returned,  a  Norfolk 
steamer,  on  its  way  to  Boston,  stopped  to  see  what 
was  the  matter  with  our  steamer.  Our  trouble 
was  explained  to  them,  and  almost  all  the  passen- 
gers were  transferred  to  this  steamer.  Mr.  Bar- 
nard remained  on  the  steamer,  and  Mrs.  Barnard 
deciding  to  remain  with  him,  I  went  aboard  this 


AFTER  THE  WAR  57 

other  steamer  with  the  rest  of  the  passengers. 
We  left  them  at  anchor,  waiting  for  the  tugs  to 
return. 

This  accident  brought  back  very  vividly  the 
time  previous  to  this,  when  I  was  in  that  other 
wreck  in  1864,  and  I  wondered  if  they  would 
reach  port  safe,  for  it  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be  cast 
away ;  but  on  arriving  in  Boston,  about  two  days 
later,  I  was  delighted  to  hear  of  the  arrival  of 
their  steamer  at  T  Wharf,  with  all  on  board  safe. 

Soon  after  I  got  to  Boston,  I  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  Mr.  Thomas  Smith's  family,  on  Walnut 
Avenue,  Boston  Highlands,  where  I  remained 
until  the  death  of  Mrs.  Smith.  I  next  lived  with 
Mrs.  Gorham  Gray,  Beacon  Street,  where  I  re- 
mained until  I  was  married,  in  1879,  to  Russell 
L.  Taylor. 

In  1880  I  had  another  experience  in  steamer 
accidents.  Mr.  Taylor  and  I  started  for  New 
York  on  the  steamer  Stonington.  We  were  in 
bed  when,  sometime  in  the  night,  the  Narragansett 
collided  with  our  boat.  I  was  awakened  by  the 
crash.  I  was  in  the  ladies'  cabin.  There  were 
about  thirty-five  or  forty  others  in  the  cabin.  I 
sprang  out  of  my  berth,  dressed  as  quickly  as  I 
could,  and  tried  to  reach  the  deck,  but  we  found 
the  cabin  door  locked,  and  two  men  stood  outside 
and  would  not  let  us  out.  About  twenty  minutes 
after,  they  opened  the  doors  and  we  went  up  on 
deck,  and  a  terrible  scene  was  before  us.  The 


68  REMINISCENCES 

Narragansett  was  on  fire,  in  a  bright  blaze ;  the 
water  was  lighted  as  far  as  one  could  see,  the  pas- 
sengers shrieking,  groaning,  running  about,  leap- 
ing into  the  water,  panic-stricken.  A  steamer 
came  to  our  assistance  ;  they  put  the  life-rafts  off 
and  saved  a  great  many  from  the  burning  steamer, 
and  picked  a  number  up  from  the  water.  A  col- 
ored man  saved  his  wife  and  child  by  giving  each 
a  chair  and  having  them  jump  overboard.  These 
chairs  kept  them  afloat  until  they  were  taken 
aboard  by  the  life-raft.  The  steamer  was  burned 
to  the  water's  edge.  The  passengers  on  board 
our  steamer  were  transferred  to  another  one  and 
got  to  New  York  at  9.30  the  next  morning.  A 
number  of  lives  were  lost  in  this  accident,  and 
the  bow  of  the  Stonington  was  badly  damaged. 
I  was  thankful  for  my  escape,  for  I  had  been  in 
two  similar  experiences  and  got  off  safely,  and  I 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  I  shall  never  have  a 
watery  grave. 


XII 
THE  WOMEN'S  RELIEF  CORPS 

ALL  this  time  my  interest  in  the  boys  in  blue 
had  not  abated.  I  was  still  loyal  and  true, 
whether  they  were  black  or  white.  My  hands 
have  never  left  undone  anything  they  could  do 
towards  their  aid  and  comfort  in  the  twilight  of 
their  lives.  In  1886  I  helped  to  organize  Corps 
67,  Women's  Relief  Corps,  auxiliary  to  the  G.  A. 
R.,  and  it  is  a  very  flourishing  corps  to-day.  I 
have  been  Guard,  Secretary,  Treasurer  for  three 
years,  and  in  1893  I  was  made  President  of  this 
corps,  Mrs.  Emily  Clark  being  Department  Presi- 
dent this  year.  In  1896,  in  response  to  an  order 
sent  out  by  the  Department  W.  R.  C.  to  take  a 
census  to  secure  a  complete  roster  of  the  Union 
Veterans  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  now  resid- 
ing in  Massachusetts,  I  was  allotted  the  West 
End  district,  which  (with  the  assistance  of  Mrs. 
Lizzie  L.  Johnson,  a  member  of  Corps  67,  and 
widow  of  a  soldier  of  the  54th  Mass.  Volunteers) 
I  canvassed  with  splendid  success,  and  found  a 
great  many  comrades  who  were  not  attached  to 
any  post  in  the  city  or  State. 

In  1898  the  Department  of  Mass.  W.  R.  C. 


60  REMINISCENCES 

gave  a  grand  fair  at  Music  Hall.  I  made  a  large 
quilt  of  red,  white,  and  blue  ribbon  that  made 
quite  a  sensation.  The  quilt  was  voted  for  and 
•was  awarded  to  the  Department  President,  Mrs. 
E.  L.  W.  Waterman,  of  Boston. 


XIII 

THOUGHTS  ON  PKESENT  CONDITIONS 

LIVING  here  in  Boston  where  the  black  man  is 
given  equal  justice,  I  must  say  a  word  on  the  gen- 
eral treatment  of  my  race,  both  in  the  North  and 
South,  in  this  twentieth  century.  I  wonder  if  our 
white  fellow  men  realize  the  true  sense  or  mean- 
ing of  brotherhood  ?  For  two  hundred  years  we 
had  toiled  for  them  ;  the  war  of  1861  came  and 
was  ended,  and  we  thought  our  race  was  forever 
freed  from  bondage,  and  that  the  two  races  could 
live  in  unity  with  each  other,  but  when  we  read 
almost  every  day  of  what  is  being  done  to  my  race 
by  some  whites  in  the  South,  I  sometimes  ask, 
"  Was  the  war  in  vain  ?  Has  it  brought  freedom, 
in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  or  has  it  not  made 
our  condition  more  hopeless  ?  " 

In  this  "  land  of  the  free  "  we  are  burned,  tor- 
tured, and  denied  a  fair  trial,  murdered  for  any 
imaginary  wrong  conceived  in  the  brain  of  the 
negro-hating  white  man.  There  is  no  redress  for 
us  from  a  government  which  promised  to  protect 
all  under  its  flag.  It  seems  a  mystery  to  me. 
They  say,  "  One  flag,  one  nation,  one  country  in- 
divisible." Is  this  true  ?  Can  we  say  this  truth- 


62  REMINISCENCES 

fully,  when  one  race  is  allowed  to  burn,  hang,  and 
inflict  the  most  horrible  torture  weekly,  monthly, 
on  another  ?  No,  we  cannot  sing-,  "  My  country, 
't  is  of  thee,  Sweet  land  of  Liberty  " !  It  is  hollow 
mockery.  The  Southland  laws  are  all  on  the  side 
of  the  white,  and  they  do  just  as  they  like  to  the 
negro,  whether  in  the  right  or  not. 

I  do  not  uphold  my  race  when  they  do  wrong. 
They  ought  to  be  punished,  but  the  innocent  are 
made  to  suffer  as  well  as  the  guilty,  and  I  hope 
the  time  will  hasten  when  it  will  be  stopped  for- 
ever. Let  us  remember  God  says,  "  He  that  sheds 
blood,  his  blood  shall  be  required  again."  I  may 
not  live  to  see  it,  but  the  time  is  approaching  when 
the  South  will  again  have  cause  to  repent  for  the 
blood  it  has  shed  of  innocent  black  men,  for  their 
blood  cries  out  for  vengeance.  For  the  South  still 
cherishes  a  hatred  toward  the  blacks,  although 
there  are  some  true  Southern  gentlemen  left  who 
abhor  the  stigma  brought  upon  them,  and  feel  it 
very  keenly,  and  I  hope  the  day  is  not  far  dis- 
tant when  the  two  races  will  reside  in  peace  in 
the  Southland,  and  we  will  sing  with  sincere  and 
truthful  hearts,  "  My  country,  't  is  of  thee,  Sweet 
land  of  Liberty,  of  thee  I  sing." 

I  have  been  in  many  States  and  cities,  and  in 
each  I  have  looked  for  liberty  and  justice,  equal 
for  the  black  as  for  the  white ;  but  it  was  not 
until  I  was  within  the  borders  of  New  England, 
and  reached  old  Massachusetts,  that  I  found  it. 


THOUGHTS  ON  PRESENT  CONDITIONS    63 

Here  is  found  liberty  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word,  liberty  for  the  stranger  within  her  gates, 
irrespective  of  race  or  creed,  liberty  and  justice 
for  all. 

We  have  before  us  still  another  problem  to 
solve.  With  the  close  of  the  Spanish  war,  and 
on  the  entrance  of  the  Americans  into  Cuba,  the 
same  conditions  confront  us  as  the  war  of  1861 
left.  The  Cubans  are  free,  but  it  is  a  limited 
freedom,  for  prejudice,  deep-rooted,  has  been 
brought  to  them  and  a  separation  made  between 
the  white  and  black  Cubans,  a  thing  that  had 
never  existed  between  them  before  ;  but  to-day 
there  is  the  same  intense  hatred  toward  the  ne- 
gro in  Cuba  that  there  is  in  some  parts  of  this 
country. 

I  helped  to  furnish  and  pack  boxes  to  be  sent 
to  the  soldiers  and  hospitals  during  the  first  part 
of  the  Spanish  war ;  there  were  black  soldiers 
there  too.  At  the  battle  of  San  Juan  Hill,  they 
were  in  the  front,  just  as  brave,  loyal,  and  true 
as  those  other  black  men  who  fought  for  free- 
dom and  the  right ;  and  yet  their  bravery  and 
faithfulness  were  reluctantly  acknowledged,  and 
praise  grudgingly  given.  All  we  ask  for  is 
"  equal  justice,"  the  same  that  is  accorded  to  all 
other  races  who  come  to  this  country,  of  their 
free  will  (not  forced  to,  as  we  were),  and  "are 
allowed  to  enjoy  every  privilege,  unrestricted, 
while  we  are  denied  what  is  rightfully  our  own 


64  REMINISCENCES 

in  a  country  which  the  labor  of  our  forefathers 
helped  to  make  what  it  is. 

One  thing  I  have  noticed  among  my  people  in 
the  South :  they  have  accumulated  a  large  amount 
of  real  estate,  far  surpassing  the  colored  owners 
in  the  North,  who  seem  to  let  their  opportunity 
slip  by  them.  Nearly  all  of  Brownsville  (a  sub- 
urb of  Savannah)  is  owned  by  colored  people, 
and  so  it  is  in  a  great  many  other  places  through- 
out the  State,  and  all  that  is  needed  is  the  pro- 
tection of  the  law  as  citizens. 

In  1867,  soon  after  the  death  of  my  father, 
who  had  served  on  a  gunboat  duriug  the  war, 
my  mother  opened  a  grocery  store,  where  she 
kept  general  merchandise  always  on  hand.  These 
she  traded  for  cash  or  would  exchange  for  crops 
of  cotton,  corn,  or  rice,  which  she  would  ship  once 
a  month,  to  F.  Lloyd  &  Co.,  or  Johnson  & 
Jackson,  in  Savannah.  These  were  colored  mer- 
chants, doing  business  on  Bay  Street  in  that  city. 
Mother  bought  her  first  property,  which  contained 
ten  acres.  She  next  purchased  fifty  acres  of  land. 
Then  she  had  a  chance  to  get  a  place  with  seven 
hundred  acres  of  land,  and  she  bought  this. 

In  1870,  Colonel  Hamilton  and  Major  Deven- 
dorft,  of  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  came  to  the  town  and 
bought  up  a  tract  of  land  at  a  place  called  Doc- 
tortown,  and  started  a  mill.  Mrs.  Devendorft 
heard  of  my  mother  and  went  to  see  her,  and  per- 
suaded her  to  come  to  live  with  her,  assuring  her 


THOUGHTS  ON  PRESENT  CONDITIONS    65 

she  would  be  as  one  of  the  family.  Mother  went 
with  her,  but  after  a  few  months  she  went  to 
Doctortown,  where  she  has  been  since,  and  now 
owns  the  largest  settlement  there.  All  trains 
going  to  Florida  pass  her  place,  just  across  the 
Altamaha  River.  She  is  well  known  by  both 
white  and  black ;  the  people  are  fond  of  her,  and 
will  not  allow  any  one  to  harm  her. 

Mr.  Devendorft  sold  out  his  place  in  1880  and 
went  back  to  New  York,  where  later  he  died. 

I  read  an  article,  which  said  the  ex-Confeder- 
ate Daughters  had  sent  a  petition  to  the  mana- 
gers of  the  local  theatres  in  Tennessee  to  prohibit 
the  performance  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  claim- 
ing it  was  exaggerated  (that  is,  the  treatment  of 
the  slaves),  and  would  have  a  very  bad  effect  on 
the  children  who  might  see  the  drama.  I  paused 
and  thought  back  a  few  years  of  the  heart-rend- 
ing scenes  I  have  witnessed ;  I  have  seen  many 
times,  when  I  was  a  mere  girl,  thirty  or  forty 
men,  handcuffed,  and  as  many  women  and  chil- 
dren, come  every  first  Tuesday  of  each  month 
from  Mr.  Wiley's  trade  office  to  the  auction 
blocks,  one  of  them  being  situated  on  Drayton 
Street  and  Court  Lane,  the  other  on  Bryant 
Street,  near  the  Pulaski  House.  The  route  was 
down  our  principal  street,  Bull  Street,  to  the 
court-house,  which  was  only  a  block  from  where 
I  resided. 

All  people  in  those  days  got  all  their  water 


66  REMINISCENCES 

from  the  city  pumps,  which  stood  about  a  block 
apart  throughout  the  city.  The  one  we  used  to 
get  water  from  was  opposite  the  court-house,  on 
Bull  Street.  I  remember,  as  if  it  were  yesterday, 
seeing  droves  of  negroes  going  to  be  sold,  and  I 
often  went  to  look  at  them,  and  I  could  hear  the 
auctioneer  very  plainly  from  my  house,  auction- 
ing these  poor  people  off. 

Do  these  Confederate  Daughters  ever  send  pe- 
titions to  prohibit  the  atrocious  lynchings  and 
wholesale  murdering  and  torture  of  the  negro  ? 
Do  you  ever  hear  of  them  fearing  this  would  have 
a  bad  effect  on  the  children  ?  Which  of  these 
two,  the  drama  or  the  present  state  of  affairs, 
makes  a  degrading  impression  upon  the  minds  of 
our  young  generation  ?  In  my  opinion  it  is  not 
"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  but  it  should  be  the  one 
that  has  caused  the  world  to  cry  "  Shame !  " 
It  does  not  seem  as  if  our  land  is  yet  civilized. 
It  is  like  times  long  past,  when  rulers  and  high 
officers  had  to  flee  for  their  lives,  and  the  negro 
has  been  dealt  with  in  the  same  way  since  the 
war  by  those  he  lived  with  and  toiled  for  two 
hundred  years  or  more.  I  do  not  condemn  all 
the  Caucasian  race  because  the  negro  is  badly 
treated  by  a  few  of  the  race.  No !  for  had  it  not 
been  for  the  true  whites,  assisted  by  God  and  the 
prayers  of  our  forefathers,  I  should  not  be  here 
to-day. 

There  are   still  good  friends  to   the .  negro. 


THOUGHTS  ON  PRESENT  CONDITIONS    67 

Why,  there  are  still  thousands  that  have  not 
bowed  to  Baal.  So  it  is  with  us.  Man  thinks  two 
hundred  years  is  a  long  time,  and  it  is,  too ;  but 
it  is  only  as  a  week  to  God,  and  in  his  own  time 
—  I  know  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  day,  but  it 
will  come  —  the  South  will  be  like  the  North,  and 
when  it  comes  it  will  be  prized  higher  than  we 
prize  the  North  to-day.  God  is  just ;  when  he 
created  man  he  made  him  in  his  image,  and  never 
intended  one  should  misuse  the  other.  All  men 
are  born  free  and  equal  in  his  sight. 

I  am  pleased  to  know  at  this  writing  that  the 
officers  and  comrades  of  my  regiment  stand  ready 
to  render  me  assistance  whenever  required.  It 
seems  like  "  bread  cast  upon  the  water,"  and  it  has 
returned  after  many  days,  when  it  is  most  needed. 
I  have  received  letters  from  some  of  the  com- 
rades, since  we  parted  in  1866,  with  expressions 
of  gratitude  and  thanks  to  me  for  teaching  them 
their  first  letters.  One  of  them,  Peter  Waggall, 
is  a  minister  in  Jacksonville,  Fla.  Another  is 
in  the  government  service  at  Washington,  D.  C. 
Others  are  in  Darien  and  Savannah,  Ga.,  and 
all  are  doing  well. 

There  are  many  people  who  do  not  know  what 
some  of  the  colored  women  did  during  the  war. 
There  were  hundreds  of  them  who  assisted  the 
Union  soldiers  by  hiding  them  and  helping  them 
to  escape.  Many  were  punished  for  taking'food 
to  the  prison  stockades  for  the  prisoners.  When  I 


68  REMINISCENCES 

went  into  Savannah,  in  1865, 1  was  told  of  one  of 
these  stockades  which  was  in  the  suburbs  of  the 
city,  and  they  said  it  was  an  awful  place.  The 
Union  soldiers  were  in  it,  worse  than  pigs,  without 
any  shelter  from  sun  or  storm,  and  the  colored 
women  would  take  food  there  at  night  and  pass  it 
to  them,  through  the  holes  in  the  fence.  The  sol- 
diers were  starving,  and  these  women  did  all  they 
could  towards  relieving  those  men,  although  they 
knew  the  penalty,  should  they  be  caught  giving 
them  aid.  Others  assisted  in  various  ways  the 
Union  army.  These  things  should  be  kept  in 
history  before  the  people.  There  has  never  been 
a  greater  war  in  the  United  States  than  the  one 
of  1861,  where  so  many  lives  were  lost,  —  not  men 
alone  but  noble  women  as  well. 

Let  us  not  forget  that  terrible  war,  or  our 
brave  soldiers  who  were  thrown  into  Anderson- 
ville  and  Libby  prisons,  the  awful  agony  they 
went  through,  and  the  most  brutal  treatment  they 
received  in  those  loathsome  dens,  the  worst  ever 
given  human  beings ;  and  if  the  white  soldiers 
were  subjected  to  such  treatment,  what  must  have 
been  the  horrors  inflicted  on  the  negro  soldiers 
in  their  prison  pens  ?  Can  we  forget  those  cruel- 
ties ?  No,  though  we  try  to  forgive  and  say, 
"No North,  no  South,"  and  hope  to  see  it  in  real- 
ity before  the  last  comrade  passes  away. 


XIV 

A  VISIT  TO    LOUISIANA 

THE  inevitable  always  happens.  On  Febru- 
ary 3,  1898,  I  was  called  to  Shreveport,  La.,  to 
the  bedside  of  my  son,  who  was  very  ill.  He 
was  traveling  with  Nickens  and  Company,  with 
"  The  Lion's  Bride,"  when  he  fell  ill,  and  had 
been  ill  two  weeks  when  they  sent  to  me.  I  tried 
to  have  him  brought  home  to  Boston,  but  they 
could  not  send  him,  as  he  was  not  able  to  sit  and 
ride  this  long  distance ;  so  on  the  sixth  of  Feb- 
ruary I  left  Boston  to  go  to  him.  I  reached  Cin- 
cinnati on  the  eighth,  where  I  took  the  train  for 
the  south.  I  asked  a  white  man  standing  near 
(before  I  got  my  train)  what  car  I  should  take. 
"  Take  that  one,"  he  said,  pointing  to  one.  "  But 
that  is  a  smoking  car ! "  "  Well,"  he  replied, 
"  that  is  the  car  for  colored  people."  I  went  to  this 
car,  and  on  entering  it  all  my  courage  failed  me.  I 
have  ridden  in  many  coaches,  but  I  was  never  in 
such  as  these.  I  wanted  to  return  home  again,  but 
when  I  thought  of  my  sick  boy  I  said,  "  Well, 
others  ride  in  these  cars  and  I  must  do  likewise," 
and  tried  to  be  resigned,  for  I  wanted  to  reach 
my  boy,  as  I  did  not  know  whether  I  should  find 


70  REMINISCENCES 

him  alive.  I  arrived  in  Chattanooga  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  where  the  porter  took  my 
baggage  to  the  train  which  was  to  leave  for 
Marion,  Miss.  Soon  after  I  was  seated,  just 
before  the  train  pulled  out,  two  tall  men  with 
slouch  hats  on  walked  through  the  car,  and  on 
through  the  train.  Finally  they  came  back  to 
our  car  and  stopping  at  my  seat  said,  "  Where 
are  those  men  who  were  with  you  ? "  I  did  not 
know  to  whom  they  were  speaking,  as  there  was 
another  woman  in  the  car,  so  I  made  no  reply. 
Again  they  asked  me,  standing  directly  in  front 
of  my  seat,  "  Where  are  those  men  who  came 
in  with  you  ?  "  "  Are  you  speaking  to  me  ?  "  I 
said.  "  Yes !  "  they  said.  "  I  have  not  seen  any 
men,"  I  replied.  They  looked  at  me  a  moment, 
and  one  of  them  asked  where  I  was  from.  I 
told  him  Boston ;  he  hesitated  a  minute  and 
walked  out  of  our  car  to  the  other  car. 

When  the  conductor  came  around  I  told  him 
what  these  men  had  said,  and  asked  him  if  they 
allowed  persons  to  enter  the  car  and  insult  pas- 
sengers. He  only  smiled.  Later,  when  the  porter 
came  in,  I  mentioned  it  to  him.  He  said,  "  Lady, 
I  see  you  do  not  belong  here  ;  where  are  you 
from  ?  "  I  told  him.  He  said,  "  I  have  often  heard 
of  Massachusetts.  I  want  to  see  that  place." 
"  Yes !  "  I  said,  "  you  can  ride  there  on  the  cars, 
and  no  person  would  be  allowed  to  speak  to  you 
as  those  men  did  to  me."  He  explained  that  those 


A  VISIT  TO  LOUISIANA  71 

men  were  constables,  who  were  in  search  of  a 
man  who  had  eloped  with  another  man's  wife. 
"  That  is  the  way  they  do  here.  Each  morning 
you  can  hear  of  some  negro  being  lynched ; "  and 
on  seeing  my  surprise,  he  said,  "  Oh,  that  is  no- 
thing ;  it  is  done  all  the  time.  We  have  no  rights 
here.  I  have  been  on  this  road  for  fifteen  years 
and  have  seen  some  terrible  things."  He  wanted 
to  know  what  I  was  doing  down  there,  and  I  told 
him  it  was  only  the  illness  of  my  son  that  brought 
me  there. 

I  was  a  little  surprised  at  the  way  the  poor 
whites  were  made  to  ride  on  this  road.  They  put 
them  all  together  by  themselves  in  a  car,  between 
the  colored  people's  coach  and  the  first-class  coach, 
and  it  looked  like  the  "  laborers'  car "  used  in 
Boston  to  carry  the  different  day  laborers  to  and 
from  their  work. 

I  got  to  Marion,  Miss.,  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  arrived  at  Vicksburg  at  noon,  and  at 
Shreveport  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  found  my  son  just  recovering  from  a  severe 
hemorrhage.  He  was  very  anxious  to  come  home, 
and  I  tried  to  secure  a  berth  for  him  on  a  sleeper, 
but  they  would  not  sell  me  one,  and  he  was  not 
strong  enough  to  travel  otherwise.  If  I  could  only 
have  gotten  him  to  Cincinnati,  I  might  have 
brought  him  home,  but  as  I  could  not  I  was  forced 
to  let  him  remain  where  he  was.  It  seemed  very 
hard,  when  his  father  fought  to  protect  the  Union 


72  REMINISCENCES 

and  our  flag,  and  yet  his  boy  was  denied,  under  this 
same  flag,  a  berth  to  carry  him  home  to  die,  be- 
cause he  was  a  negro. 

Shreveport  is  a  little  town,  made  up  largely  of 
Jews  and  Germans  and  a  few  Southerners,  the 
negroes  being  in  the  majority.  Its  sidewalks  are 
sand  except  on  the  main  street.  Almost  all  the 
stores  are  kept  either  by  the  Jews  or  Germans. 
They  know  a  stranger  in  a  minute,  as  the  town  is 
small  and  the  citizens  know  each  other ;  if  not 
personally,  their  faces  are  familiar. 

I  went  into  a  jewelry  store  one  day  to  have  a 
crystal  put  in  my  watch,  and  the  attendant  re- 
marked, "  You  are  a  stranger."  I  asked  him 
how  he  knew  that.  He  said  he  had  watched  me 
for  a  week  or  so.  I  told  him  yes,  I  was  a  stranger 
and  from  Boston.  "  Oh  !  I  have  heard  of  Bos- 
ton," he  said.  "  You  will  not  find  this  place  like 
it  is  there.  How  do  you  like  this  town  ?  "  "  Not 
very  well,"  I  replied. 

I  found  that  the  people  who  had  lived  in  Mas- 
sachusetts and  were  settled  in  Shreveport  were 
very  cordial  to  me  and  glad  to  see  me.  There 
was  a  man  murdered  in  cold  blood  for  nothing. 
He  was  a  colored  man  and  a  "  porter  "  in  a  store 
in  this  town.  A  clerk  had  left  his  umbrella  at 
home.  It  had  begun  to  rain  when  he  started  for 
home,  and  on  looking  for  the  umbrella  he  could 
not,  of  course,  find  it.  He  asked  the  porter  if  he 
had  seen  it.  He  said  no,  he  had  not.  "  You 


A  VISIT  TO  LOUISIANA  73 

answer  very  saucy,"  said  the  clerk,  and  drawing 
his  revolver,  he  shot  the  colored  man  dead.  He 
was  taken  up  the  street  to  an  office  where  he  was 
placed  under  one  thousand  dollars  bond  for  his 
appearance  and  released,  and  that  was  the  end  of 
the  case.  I  was  surprised  at  this,  but  I  was  told 
by  several  white  and  colored  persons  that  this  was 
a  common  occurrence,  and  the  persons  were  never 
punished  if  they  were  white,  but  no  mercy  was 
shown  to  negroes. 

I  met  several  comrades,  white  and  colored,  there, 
and  noticed  that  the  colored  comrades  did  not 
wear  their  buttons.  I  asked  one  of  them  why  this 
was,  and  was  told,  should  they  wear  it,  they  could 
not  get  work.  Still  some  would  wear  their  but- 
tons in  spite  of  the  feeling  against  it.  I  met  a 
newsman  from  New  York  on  the  train.  He  was 
a  veteran,  and  said  that  Sherman  ought  to  come 
back  and  go  into  that  part  of  the  country. 

Shreveport  is  a  horrid  place  when  it  rains. 
The  earth  is  red  and  sticks  to  your  shoes,  and  it 
is  impossible  to  keep  rubbers  on,  for  the  mud  pulls 
them  off.  Going  across  the  Mississippi  River,  I 
was  amazed  to  see  how  the  houses  were  built,  so 
close  to  the  shore,  or  else  on  low  land ;  and  when 
the  river  rises,  it  flows  into  these  houses  and  must 
make  it  very  disagreeable  and  unhealthy  for  the 
inmates. 

After  the  death  of  my  son,  while  on  my  way 
back  to  Boston,  I  came  to  Clarksdale,  one  of  the 


74  REMINISCENCES 

stations  on  the  road  from  Vicksburg.  In  this 
town  a  Mr.  Hancock,  of  New  York,  had  a  large 
cotton  plantation,  and  the  Chinese  intermarry 
with  the  blacks. 

At  Clarksdale,  I  saw  a  man  hanged.  It  was  a 
terrible  sight,  and  I  felt  alarmed  for  my  own 
safety  down  there.  When  I  reached  Memphis  I 
found  conditions  of  travel  much  better.  The  peo- 
ple were  mostly  Western  and  Northern  here  ;  the 
cars  were  nice,  but  separate  for  colored  persons 
until  we  reached  the  Ohio  River,  when  the  door 
was  opened  and  the  porter  passed  through,  say- 
ing, "  The  Ohio  River !  change  to  the  other  car." 
I  thought,  "  What  does  he  mean  ?  We  have  been 
riding  all  this  distance  in  separate  cars,  and  now 
we  are  all  to  sit  together."  It  certainly  seemed 
a  peculiar  arrangement.  Why  not  let  the  ne- 
groes, if  their  appearance  and  respectability  war- 
rant it,  be  allowed  to  ride  as  they  do  in  the  North, 
East,  or  West  ? 

There  are  others  beside  the  blacks,  in  the  South 
and  North,  that  should  be  put  in  separate  cars 
while  traveling,  just  as  they  put  my  race.  Many 
black  people  in  the  South  do  not  wish  to  be 
thrown  into  a  car  because  all  are  colored,  as  there 
are  many  of  their  race  very  objectionable  to  them, 
being  of  an  entirely  different  class  ;  but  they  have 
to  adapt  themselves  to  the  circumstances  and 
ride  with  them,  because  they  are  all  negroes. 
There  is  no  such  division  with  the  whites.  Except 


A  VISIT  TO  LOUISIANA  75 

in  one  place  I  saw,  the  workingman  and  the  mil- 
lionaire ride  in  the  same  coaches  together.  Why 
not  allow  the  respectable,  law-abiding  classes  of 
the  blacks  the  same  privilege  ?  We  hope  for 
better  conditions  in  the  future,  and  feel  sure 
they  will  come  in  time,  surely  if  slowly. 

While  in  Shreveport,  I  visited  ex-Senator 
Harper's  house.  He  is  a  colored  man  and  owns 
a  large  business  block,  besides  a  fine  residence 
on  Cado  Street  and  several  good  building  lots. 
Another  family,  the  Pages,  living  on  the  same 
street,  were  quite  wealthy,  and  a  large  number 
of  colored  families  owned  their  homes,  and  were 
industrious,  refined  people ;  and  if  they  were  only 
allowed  justice,  the  South  would  be  the  only  place 
for  our  people  to  live. 

We  are  similar  to  the  children  of  Israel,  who, 
after  many  weary  years  in  bondage,  were  led 
into  that  land  of  promise,  there  to  thrive  and 
be  forever  free  from  persecution ;  and  I  don't 
despair,  for  the  Book  which  is  our  guide  through 
life  declares,  "  Ethiopia  shall  stretch  forth  her 
hand." 

What  a  wonderful  revolution !  In  1861  the 
Southern  papers  were  full  of  advertisements  for 
"slaves,"  but  now,  despite  all  the  hindrances 
and  "  race  problems,"  my  people  are  striving  to 
attain  the  full  standard  of  all  other  races  born 
free  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  in  a  number  of  in- 
stances have  succeeded.  Justice  we  ask,  —  to  be 


76  REMINISCENCES 

citizens  of  these  United  States,  where  so  many  of 
our  people  have  shed  their  blood  with  their  white 
comrades,  that  the  stars  and  stripes  should  never 
be  polluted. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


ROSTER   OF    SURVIVORS    OF  THIRTY-THIRD 
UNITED  STATES  COLORED  TROOPS 

THE  following  are  the  names  of  officers  and  men  as 
near  as  I  have  been  able  to  reach. 

Colonel  T.  W.  Higginson. 
Lieut.-Col.  C.  T.  Trowbridge. 


COMPANY  A. 
Capt.  Charles  E.  Parker, 
Lieut.     John     A.    Trow- 
bridge, 

Lieut.  J.  B.  West, 
O.-Sergt.  Joseph  Holden, 

1st  Sergt. Hattent, 

2d  Sergt.  Wm.  Jackson, 
Thomas  Smith, 
George  Green, 
Manly  Gater, 
Paul  Jones, 
Sancho  Jenkins, 
London  Bailey, 
Edmund  Mack, 
Andrew  Perry, 
Morris  Williams, 
James  Dorsen, 
Abel  Haywood. 

COMPANY  B. 
Capt.  Wm.  James, 


O.-Sergt.  Bob  Bowling, 
2d  Sergt.  Nathan  Hagans, 
3d  Sergt.  Cato  Wright, 
4th  Sergt.  Frederick  Par- 
ker, 

5th  Sergt.  Wm.  Simmons, 
Corp.  Monday  Stewart, 
Corp.  Allick  Seymore, 
Corp.  Lazarus  Fields, 
Corp.  Boson  Green, 
Corp.  Steven  Wright, 
Corp.  Carolina  Hagans, 
Corp.  Richard  Robinson, 
David  Hall, 
Edward  Houston, 
Smart  Givins, 
John  Mills, 
Jacob  Riley, 
Frederick  Procter, 
Benj.  Gordon, 
Benj.  Mason, 
Sabe  Natteal, 


80 


APPENDIX 


Joseph  Noyels, 
Benj.  Mackwell, 
Thos.  Hernandes, 
Israel  Choen, 
Stoplight  Gordon, 
Chas.  Talbert, 
Isaac  Jenkins, 
Morris  Polite, 
Robert  Freeman, 
Jacob  Watson, 
Benj.  Managualt, 
Richard  Adams, 
Mingo  Singleton, 
Toney  Chapman, 
Jos.  Knowell, 
Benj.  Gardner. 

COMPANY  C. 
Capt.  A.  W.  Jackson, 
2d  Sergt.  Billy  Milton, 
Corp.  Peter  Waggall, 
Corp.  Henry  Abrams, 
Martin    Dickson,     Drum- 

'mer, 

Roddrick  Langs,  Fifer, 
Joseph  Smith, 
Solomon  Major, 
John  Brown, 
Bram  Strowbridge, 
Robert  Trewell, 
Jerry  Fields, 
Paul  Fields, 
William  Johnson, 
Bram  Stoved, 
Robert  Mack, 
Samuel  Mack, 
Jack  Mack, 


Simon  Gatson, 

Bob  Bolden, 

James  Long, 

O.-S.  Frederick  Brown. 

COMPANY  D. 

Sergt.  Isaiah  Brown, 
Luke  Wright, 
Dick  Hay  wood, 
Stephen  Murrel, 
Jos.  Halsley, 
Nathan  Hazeby, 
O.-Sergt.  Robert  Godweu, 
Peter  Johnson, 
Caesar  Johnson, 
Sampson  Cuthbert. 

COMPANY  E. 
Capt.  N.  G.  Parker, 
Corp.  Jack  Sallens, 
Quaker  Green, 
Abram  Fuller, 
Levan  Watkins, 
Peter  Chisholm, 
Scipio  Haywood, 
Paul  King, 
Richard  Howard, 
Esau  Kellison, 
Chas.  Armstrong, 
Washington  Denary, 
Benj.  King, 
Luke  Harris, 
William  Cummings. 

COMPANY  F. 
Capt.  John  Thompson, 
Sergt.  Robert  Vandross, 


APPENDIX 


81 


Sergt.  Caesar  Alston, 
2d  Sergt.  Moses  Green, 
Corp.  Samuel  Mack, 
Edmund  Washington, 
Isaac  Jenkins, 
Chas.  Seymore, 
Frank  Grayson, 
Bristow  Eddy, 
Abram  Fields, 
Joseph  Richardson, 
James  Brown, 
Frederick  Tripp, 
Frost  Coleman, 
Paul  Coleman, 
Robert  Edward, 
Milton  Edward. 

COMPANY  G. 
Capt.  L.  W.  Metcalf, 
Sergt.  T.  W.  Long, 
Corp.  Prince  Logan, 
Corp.  Mark  Clark, 
Corp.  James  Ash, 
Corp.  Henry  Hamilton, 
Roddrick  Long, 
Benjamin  Turner, 
David  Wanton, 
Benjamin  Martin, 
John  Ryals, 
Charles  Williams, 
Hogarth  Williams, 
Benjamin  Wright, 
Henry  Harker. 

COMPANY  H. 
Capt.  W.  W.  Sampson, 
1st  Sergt.  Jacob  Jones, 


2d  Sergt.  Thomas  Fields, 
Corp.  A.  Brown, 
Corp.    Emmanuel   Wash- 
ington, 

Jackson  Danner, 
Joseph  Wright, 
Phillips  Brown, 
Luke  Harris, 
Lazarus  Aikens, 
Jonah  Aikens, 
Jacob  Jones, 
Thomas  Howard, 
William  Williams, 
Jack  Parker, 
Jack  Ladsou, 
Poll  McKee, 
Lucius  Baker. 

COMPANY  I. 
2d  Sergt.  Daniel  Spauld- 

ing, 

Corp.  Uandickpe, 
Corp.  Floward, 
Corp.  Thompson. 

COMPANY  K. 
O.-Sergt.  Harry  Williams, 
2d  Sergt.  Billy  Coleman, 
3d  Sergt.  Caesar  Oston, 
Jacob  Lance, 
Jack  Burns, 
Wm.  McLean, 
Geo.  Washington, 
David  Wright, 
Jerry  Mitchell, 
Jackson  Green, 
David  Putnam, 


82  APPENDIX 


B.  Lance, 
Ward  McKen, 
Edmond  Cloud, 
Chance  Mitchel, 


Leon  Simmons, 
Prince  White, 
Stephen  Jenkins. 


Quarter-Master  Harry  West. 
Quarter-Master's  Sergt,  Edward  Colvin. 


A  LIST  OF  THE  BATTLES  FOUGHT  BY  THE 
THIRTY-THIRD  U.  S.  COLORED  TROOPS, 
FORMERLY  FIRST  S.  C.  VOLUNTEERS. 

Darien,  Ga.,  and  Ridge       ....  1862 

St.  Mary's  River  and  Hundred  Pines  .         .  1862 

Pocotaligo  Bridge 1     .         .         .         •         «  1862 

Jacksonville,  Fla 1863 

Township 1863 

Mill  Town  Bluff3 1863 

Hall  Island         ...                 .  1863 

Johns  Island 

Coosaw  River 

Combahee  and  Edisto  *  1863 

James  Island 4    .                                              •  1864 

Honey  Hill        .                          •  1864 

1  Many  prisoners  and  stores  captured. 

2  Four  prisoners  captured. 
8  300  prisoners  captured. 
4  Fort  Gregg  captured. 


from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


MOW-REWEWACLE 


APR  EJPQ05 
DUE  2  WKS  FRp  DATE  RECEIVED 


ACCESS 
terlibrary  Loa 
1  1  630  UniversitV  Research  Library 

Box  951  575 

75 


MAY  0  4  2005 


THE  LIBRARY 

/  OF  CALIFORNIA! 
LOS  ANGELES 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACIUTY 


III  1111  Hill  Hill  "I'1  >""  ""'  •"" 

A    001  155328     6 


